Their Destiny The Hogwarts Years
by puttyman24
Summary: This story follows on from Their Destiny. On Halloween night in 1981, the Potter family was attacked by Lord Voldemort. Lily died but James survived. This is the story of The Marauders & their offspring as Harry & Draco attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry & their adventures there as part of a new group of Marauders. There will be laughter, tears & conflict.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I only own David, Molly, Lucy and Janice. The rest I am borrowing. I make no profit & this is all for fun.

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Authors Note: It isn't required to read the prequel to this but it would help to understand the characters better. Anyway hope you enjoy.

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Chapter One: Going To Hogwarts

The car trundled along at a steady forty miles per hour as the boys sitting on the back seat slept soundly.

Given how unassuming the car was, it was fair to say that no one would guess that there was something special about the family that was crammed in both the front and back.

In fact they were special, very special, as they were wizards and witches and two of their number Harry Potter and Draco Black were the most special of all. These two boys had powers, many wizards could only dream of.

They also had a Destiny. They were destined to defeat once and for all, the most evil wizard seen in Britain since the days of Grindelwald. Perhaps even worse than Grindelwald. Lord Voldemort.

When Harry had been just over a year old, the Marauders had been betrayed by someone they'd trusted and consequently, Harry's birth mother Lily had been killed by Voldemort. Harry and his Father James had somehow survived though few knew why Harry had survived as he had been attacked by the killing curse.

These two boys were jolted out of their dreams as the car went over a speed bump. "Wake up you two,we're nearly there", said James.

The boys yawned and stretched and looked out of the window. The could see the Kings Cross Station building nearby. James was driving the car up to the car parks entrance.

Harry looked at watch, 10:35 am it said. They had twenty-five minutes to park, get the trunks and cages from the car and get to where they needed to be. 'No problem' thought Harry.

Between James, Sirius, Peter and Remus, the trunks were carried into the station building. Harry and Draco carried their owl cages themselves.

They were all wearing Muggle clothing so as to blend in and not draw attention to themselves. "Where do we go now Dad?" Harry asked James as they walked through the concourse and onto the platform.

"Follow me this way" he told both Harry and Draco. They walked onto platform nine, weaving their way through people rushing past.

Eventually, they reached what seemed to be a solid wall, set right in between platforms nine and ten. Harry looked at his Dad questioningly "uh, Dad, this is a brick wall" he said.

The adults all laughed and Harry, Draco and Molly looked at them in confusion.

"It's not just a brick wall kids" Sirius told them. "Let me show you". Sirius casually approached the wall, making sure no Muggles were looking and leaned casually against it. He disappeared.  
"Wha...?" Draco shouted in surprise, nearly dropping his owl cage.

"It's alright kids, it's how you get on the platform" Peter explained. He went next, followed by Lucy and Molly and then by Janice carrying David.

The only four left were Harry, James, Draco and Remus. Remus walked up to Draco and grasped his trolley firmly "together, on three" he said to the boy.

Draco looked nervous, but nodded resolutely. On three, the two of them began to push the trolley towards the wall, slowly at first but then faster. They ran full pelt at the wall and...vanished.

Harry looked at the wall and then at his Dad. He could do this. He would do it.

Harry gripped his trolley tightly, the owl cage perched on top and with James's help copied the movement of Remus and Draco.

They reached the wall and went through. Harry who had felt sure something bad had happened, opened his eyes and gasped in amazement.

They were on a platform. But it was a platform like no other that he had seen before. The floor was sparkling clean, the furniture was in good repair and people were bustling about in all kinds of clothing.

Owls were hooting loudly, both to their owners and to each other. Toads made croaking sounds and rats scurried around people's legs.

Harry then saw the Hogwarts express. It was a gleaming steam engine, crimson red and shining brightly. Harry and James made their way down the platform towards Draco and the others.

Halfway down, James pulled Harry back. Harry was about to ask what was up, when he saw the large group of reporters clustered around Remus and Peter who seemed to be running interference.

"We'll never get past them!" Harry groaned. All he wanted was to be normal. He hated fame and being the "boy who lived".

"We'll find a way son, trust me" his father said tapping the side of his nose. James thought for a moment and an idea came into his head "get your invisibility cloak out of the trunk" he told his son.

Harry did so and, having an idea what he needed to do, threw it over himself. This meant that only James was visible next to the trunk and owl cage.

"Walk slowly and be alert, you don't want to bump into one of them" James advised him as they resumed walking along the platform.

They walked past the distracted group of reporters and Peter winked at them. He obviously knew where Harry was. James flashed the thumbs up at them and mouthed "thanks".

They reached the others who were waiting near the door to a carriage. Lucy looked around in surprise "where's Harry?" she asked her husband as she looked around for their son.

James thumbed next to him and Lucy nodded in understanding.

Draco looked around, "it's alright Bro, you can it off, no one's watching" he told Harry. In a second, Harry had removed the cloak and was stuffing it back into his trunk.

"Your hair's a right mess, let me flatten it" Lucy said as she began smoothing down his hair.

"Mum!, get off!", Harry protested.

"Oh don't be so silly" Lucy said smiling.

James and Sirius put the trunks into the carriage and stepped back down onto the platform.

Lucy knelt down to Harry's height, "you have a great first term sweetheart" she gave her son a long, tight hug and a kiss on the forehead.

When she stepped back she said "I expect at least two letters a week and a report on the two way mirror".

"Alright Mum" Harry said smiling "I'm going to miss you, I love you".

"I love you too Harry" Lucy said, her eyes tearing up.

Harry stepped up to his sister who looked both sad and jealous.

He gave her a big hug and whispered in her ear "keep up the Marauder tradition while we're away, alright". Molly sniffed and nodded.

"Well son, this is it, I know you've been to Hogwarts before but it's very different as a student". He gave Harry a hug.

James then added "I expect you to keep the Marauder name going at Hogwarts". Harry grinned at this and nodded.

Lucy standing not far away gave James a stern look and said: "Harry, you will concentrate on your studies, you hear me?".

"Yes Mum" Harry answered, smirking, his fingers crossed behind his back.

Not far away Sirius, Janice and David were saying their own goodbye to Draco. "You have an amazing term Draco and we'll see you at Christmas, I love you" Janice said as she hugged him fiercely.

"I will Mum and..." Draco checked no one else was watching "love you too".

Janice let go of the hug. "Bye Dwaco" David said to his big brother. Draco grinned "see you at Christmas mate, I bet you'll be even bigger by then".

David giggled.

"You have a great term Son, not going to be the same without you pulling pranks at the Manor" Sirius said.

"Don't worry I'll carry on at Hogwarts Dad" Draco assure him. "You will not!" Janice said. Draco gulped "you mind what your aunt Lucy said and focus on your studies".

Draco nodded and picked up his owl cage, inside which Alexander was snoozing.

Harry picked up his cage and stepped up into the carriage, followed by Draco.

They waved to the family "say goodbye to Uncle Wormtail and Uncle Moony for us" Harry said.

"We will" James assured them.

The two of them set off, holding the cages aloft and dragging their trunks behind them.

They didn't have to walk long "this one's empty" Harry said as he peered through the doorway.

"Great, I don't think I could have dragged this thing much further" Draco muttered as he followed Harry into the compartment.

They stowed their trunks up in the luggage racks above their heads, placed the owl cages next to them and sat down.

Harry had chosen a seat by the window in order to check for their friends arrivals, while Draco sat on the opposite seat to do the same.

"There's Hermione and Ron!" Harry said excitably.

"Oh yeah!" said Draco. They watched as a sea of redheads and one bushy haired girl neared the train "come on!, come on!" said Mrs Weasley in a harried fashion.

They heard The Weasleys greeting their parents and heard Fred and George promise to send Ginny a toilet seat "you will not!" shouted Mrs Weasley.

Not long after, they heard voices in the corridor and saw several redheads heading past their compartment "in here!" shouted Draco.

Ron heard them first and opened the door, "hey guys" he said, as he hauled his trunk into the compartment. Harry and Draco got up to help stow it above them.

"Hi Harry, hi Draco" Hermione said, smiling as she hauled her trunk in. The three boys helped with her trunk and her and Ron sat down.

"Hello Harry" said Fred "hello Draco" said George.

"Hi Fred, George" they replied.

"Looking forward to Hogwarts?" they asked simultaneously.

"Yes" they repeated together.

The Twins smirked "it hurts, you know, the sorting ceremony".

Harry and Draco exchanged nervous looks.

Ron snorted, "yeah pull the other one, it's got bells on it" he said to them contemptuously.

"Well we can't stand her chatting to ickle firsties all day, we're off to find Lee" they announced and waved goodbye.

Shortly after they left, Harry heard "you have fun at Hogwarts son, we'll see you at Christmas". It was the voice of Frank Longbottom.

They grinned. Their number would soon be complete. "You take care Neville, we love you" Alice said. There was the noise of someone boarding the train and a voice "Trevor, will you stop running away!".

They all smirked. It was a well known fact that Neville loved Trevor, but that Trevor was a very difficult pet.

Trevor hopped into their compartment and up onto a seat next to Ron.

His owner soon appeared looking red faced and annoyed "hi everyone" Neville said.

"Hey Neville" the chorused. They then burst out laughing.

Neville began laughing as well and after his trunk was stowed with the others, he sat down next to Ron and picked Trevor up, he placed the errant toad into his box and used a spell his Dad had taught him to stop Trevor escaping.

Shortly after they had got comfortable, Percy entered the compartment "Harry, Neville, Draco" he said grinning "good to see you all".

He came and sat down next to Hermione. "Shouldn't you be up in the prefects carriage, Perce?" Ron asked him.

Percy shrugged "I'll go up there in a bit, I won't be the last to arrive".

Everyone grinned. Even though Percy had been made a prefect this year, it was well known that he liked having fun and had already told them that as long as any prank didn't cause harm, he'd ignore it.

"I suppose you're all nervous about the sorting" Percy said as he looked around at them all.

They nodded. Percy smiled "well, it's nothing to worry about, really".

Harry and Draco looked sceptical.

Percy grinned, "I suppose you've been listening to Fred and George" he said. He then laughed "really you lot, surely you know by now not to believe everything they say".

He turned to Ron, "you told them right?" he said. Ron nodded, "I said to them that Fred and George did it last year to some other first years".

Harry suddenly felt very stupid and judging by the looks on the faces of Draco, Hermione and Neville, they felt the same way.

"Well like I said, it's very safe" Percy continued. They all fixed their gazes on him intently.

"All you have to do is sit on a stool and place what we call the sorting hat on your head, it'll look into your mind and decide which house you should be in".

Draco looked worried at this as did the others.

"Don't worry though" Percy said, reading their expressions correctly "you can tell it where you want to be put and it always put's you there, though you may have to be a bit forceful" he added.

He stood up, "right, I'll see you five later" he said as he headed for the door "I'm off to find Penelope, feel like some snogging".

The other five grimaced at this image and he left the compartment laughing.

"I never thought Percy would be so cool" Ron remarked as they waited for the train to leave.

The others nodded as they remembered the way Percy used to be.

"He used to be so serious all the time" Harry said.

"Really uptight" added Draco.

They all laughed at how much a rebel Percy had become.

The heard the hiss of steam and felt the train beginning to move. They all rushed to the window and waved at their family waiting on the platform.

After a short time, the train rounded a corner and the station was gone from view.

The five of them settled into a very comfortable train ride.

Draco and Neville pulled out a pack of exploding snap cards, Hermione took a book out of her trunk, Harry was amused to see it was one of their school books.

"Fancy some wizard chess Harry?" Ron asked him. Harry smiled "yeah alright" he replied. Ron got his chess set out of his trunk and set it up.

They spent a fun hour playing chess, Harry used to be very bad at chess but due to coaching from Neville who was natural at it, he could now beat Ron every now and then.

Today however was not that day, "checkmate" Ron announced. Harry gaped at him. He had not seen that move coming at all.

After they had packed away the chess set, Harry asked everyone "what house do you want to be in?". "I want to be in Gryffindor" announced Neville "my parents were".

"I have to be in Gryffindor" Ron said, his face turning pink "I mean, you all know that my brothers have been in Gryffindor and my parents were, in fact..." Ron considered "I think all my family have been".

"For me it's Gryffindor I hope, although I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad" Hermione said.

All eyes turned on Harry, "Gryffindor all the way" Harry told them, "I mean, I like playing pranks too much to be a Ravenclaw, I know some Slytherins are nice but too many are from dark wizard families, I suppose Hufflepuff would be alright but..." Harry shrugged "I just feel like Gryffindor is the right house".

They began to chat about the sorting and their classes "I'm looking forward to all of them except History of Magic" Harry said.

"I know, can't believe that Professor Dumbledore hasn't got rid of Binns" Draco groaned.

The others who had not been to Hogwarts before asked for more details "Binn's is a ghost" Draco explained "apparently, he died in a chair one night twenty odd years ago and next morning left his body behind when he went to teach".

"Yeah, from what we've been told, he was boring even when he was alive and now is even worse" Harry finished.

"That seems like an odd teaching choice" Hermione frowned "surely Professor Dumbledore would want us to learn properly".

Harry and Draco shrugged. They weren't really interested in History of Magic anyway.

"What do you think Potions will be like?" asked Neville.

Harry and Draco both considered the question "well" began Harry "I'd say" continued Draco "that Uncle Sev is very fair, if anyone is struggling I'm sure he'd help them".

"He's always been nice to us" Harry explained.

They had just begun to discuss possible pranks to pull during the school year and what name they should have when they were interrupted.

"Well, well, well" said an unpleasantly drawling voice. All heads turned to the newcomer "if it isn't the Weasley, Longbottom, Black and Potter".

Nott stepped into the train compartment, followed close behind by two rather large looking boys.

"This is Crabbe" he gestured to the one with short frizzy hair on the left, "and this is Goyle", he gestured to the one of the right who had hair so short it looked like it had been shaved.

"Look Potter and Black, I know we got off on the wrong foot".

"You're damn right we did" Harry practically snarled.

Nott carried on as if he hadn't heard him "but I want to extend the hand of friendship, you'd both be better off associating with your own kind" he said as he looked disdainfully at Ron, Neville and Hermione all of whom had stood up.

"You mean Pure-blood supremacists?" Draco said derisively "no thanks Nott" said Harry.

"In case you didn't notice Nott, both our mothers" Draco indicated himself and Harry "are Muggle-born so we're half-bloods".

"You're a Malfoy, you're a Pure-blood" Nott protested.

"Never say that name to me again!" Draco growled menacingly as he gripped his wand tightly.

"Why would we want **your **friendship, it's obvious why you're trying to be nice to us now" Harry said.

"Yeah, you've been told to make friends of us so your Dad can get in with our parents" Draco said.

"So thanks, but no thanks Nott, we already have three great friends and we wouldn't trade them in for the likes of you" Harry put in.

"So sod off, now" Draco finished.

"Make me" Nott said threateningly.

Within moments, he found five wands aimed at himself, Crabbe and Goyle. The two large boys screamed and fled from the compartment and Nott backed away carefully before running off himself.

"Well, that's that dealt with" Harry said, satisfied as they all sat down again.

"Dad warned us he'd seek us out" Draco explained.

"Yeah my Dad said he'd want to 'make friends' with us" Harry said using air quotes on the make friends part.

"For the record" Draco said "that wasn't all talk to make him go away".

"Draco's right, it's what we really believe, you three our our best friends".

Harry looked out of the window for a moment before turning to face them "I really hope we're put in the same house, but if not, I'll still consider you like family, all of you" he said.

They all put their hands in as Harry extended his "all for one..." he began.

"...And one for all!" they finished. The five of them then laughed and joked for awhile.#

About halfway into their journey, the trolley witch came around pushing the overladen trolley in front of her "anything off the trolley dears?" she asked them with a kind smile.

Harry and Draco both had the same idea "we'll take the lot!" they said together.

The witch looked startled but began to total it all up.

Harry and Draco paid her and the witch deposited the contents onto the seats.

The five of them spent a very happy time after that eating sweets and other foods including cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties as the train continued to chug north to Scotland and Hogwarts.

Harry looked out of the window and realised that darkness had begun to descend outside. Very little was visible except for some trees.

It was as they rounded the next corner that Harry noticed Hogwarts castle in the distance.

"Ron wake up!" he shouted jolting his best friend awake.

The others all awoke with a start.

"What's the problem?" Draco asked sleepily.

"We need to get our robes on, we'll be at the station soon" Harry told them.

There was mad scramble after that to get ready. Hermione, understandably, went off to get changed in private while the boys pulled the blinds on the compartment and got changed there.

They had just pulled their hats on when they felt the train begin to slow. As it pulled to a stop, Hermione returned and the five of them, laden with trunks and cages joined the mad rush to get off the train.

Luckily, they had been able to use a spell taught to them to make the trunks very light weight which meant that only one person needed to move them.

As they moved their belongings along the platform, they saw a space up ahead where the trunks and cages were being placed.

They put them there and were just looking around for other fellow first years, when a booming voice cut through the darkness.

"Firs Years, this way, come on now, all firs years to me". They saw a lamp swinging in the darkness and then the large figure of Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts grounds and game keeper, came into view.

"Harry!, Draco!, Ron!, Hermione!, Neville!" he said, smiling as he greeted them all.

"Boy are you all in for a great time!" he said.

"Follow me" he told them and began to walked along the platform gathering other first years. They followed on almost at a run as Hagrid was so fast.

Eventually, all of the first years had been found. Some looked excited like the five of them were, others looked nervous, some like Theodore Nott were nonchalant and the rest seemed downright terrified.

Harry couldn't blame them. He supposed he Draco and their friends would have been the same, had he and Draco not been to Hogwarts before and thus been able to set their minds at rest on certain points.

"I heard there's a giant squid in the lake!" said one of the first years.

"Yeah but it's harmless" another said in an Irish accent.

"Firs Years follow me" Hagrid said and he set off down a slope. As they neared the bottom of the slope, they could see row upon row of boats all waiting on the calm surface of the lake.

Harry knew from what his Dad had told him and Draco, that they would use the boats to cross the lake and enter Hogwarts Castle.

"Maximum of four to a boat!" Hagrid told them as they began to climb in.

"I'll share with someone else" Hermione told them and walked off to find a boat with less people. She was in luck as two dark skinned girls and a light skinned girl let her share with them.

Harry, Draco, Ron and Neville meanwhile clambered into their boat and waited for everyone else to get into theirs.

Once everyone was ready, Hagrid gave the signal and the boats set off across the long lake to the castle.

Even though Harry had seen Hogwarts Castle before, he had not seen it from this angle. The castle, with light blazing in seemingly every window and the impressive stone turrets, jutting out from the roof, looked formidable and awe inspiring.

'I'm going to love it here' Harry thought, grinning, as the boats continued to cut across the lake. Halfway across, the giant squid made an appearance, rising to the surface and making many of the students shriek in alarm and surprise.

Harry and his friends just smiled and wave at the creature, who waved a tentacle at Harry and Draco.

They had met the squid during one of their visits last year when they came to see their Uncle Hagrid. He had shown them the squid and they found that creature was not only harmless, but also very friendly.

In what seemed like no time, the boats bumped up against a large pier, jutting out into the lake. Everyone began to climb out of the boats and up onto dry land. Some had been splashed by waves and were soaked, others, like Harry, Draco and their friends were dry.

Hagrid, with a flick of his wand, dried off those who were wet and said: "follow me". The students followed on, chatting away to each other about the boat trip, the squid and what the castle would be like inside.

They had just reached the top of some long, steep, steps and were standing in front of the great hall, when the doors opened.

Their ears were assailed by a momentary burst of noise before the doors closed again.

They found themselves staring up a formidable looking witch, wearing dark green robes, her hair was pulled back neatly in a bun and she had a pair of spectacles perched on his nose.

Her lined face, surveyed them all with severity, except for Harry, Draco, Ron and Neville at whom she smiled briefly.

"Welcome to Hogwarts First Years" she began. She gestured to the double doors into the hall "in just a few minutes you shall proceed into the great hall and be sorted into your houses".

A burst of talking accompanied this, as many of the students talked about how they'd be sorted and into which house. Professor McGonagall cut above the chatter, just as Hermione joined them.

"Hi guys" she said as she walked up to them.

McGonagall continued "the four houses, are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, while you are a student here, your house will be like your family, you will eat with your house, share a house common room and sleep in house dormitories, triumphs will earn your house points, any ruled breaking will result in points being taken away".

She looked at them all severely "do you all understand?". The group of first years nodded.

And Professor McGonagall turned away and reentered the hall.

"I'm going to be in Slytherin" boasted Nott who was standing a few feet away, with his cronies Crabbe and Goyle on either side.

"No surprise there, you look and act like a slimy snake" Harry said coldly.

"Why you..." Nott began, but didn't have chance to finish his threat as Professor McGonagall returned.

"You will follow me into the great hall, we shall proceed between the house tables and up to the front, near the staff table".

She pushed open the doors and strode through, followed by the large group of students.

Harry, who had seen other parts of Hogwarts, had not seen the great hall. He stared around him in amazement. There were candles hovering above the house tables, while lamps burned on the walls.

As he walked, his attention turned to the ceiling. He looked up and saw that it was dark and filled with stars. The moon was also visible.

Harry thanked Hermione in his head as he recollected that it wasn't the actual night sky, but a ceiling charmed to look however it did outside.

Needless to say, Harry was on first impression of the great hall, very impressed.

He was jolted back to reality when Draco poked him "what?" he asked and then noticed that the sorting was about to start and he'd missed the hat's song.

"When I call your name, step up and place the hat" Professor McGonagall indicted the worn, green, pointed hat, that was sat on a stool in front of them.

McGonagall unfolded a long piece of parchment and began reading out names in alphabetical order, "Abbott, Hannah" she announced.

A blonde haired girl stepped forwards confidently and placed the hat on her head. "Hufflepuff!", the hat called out almost at once.

She ran over to the middle table where everyone was on their feet clapping and cheering.

Up next was a short girl with brown hair called Susan Bones. Harry's eyes widened "Bones" he whispered. She had to be related to the Minister of Magic. She looked very nervous. She sat on the stool, placed the hat on her head and waited "Hufflepuff!" the hat shouted again.

She ran off to the same table as Hannah and sat down next to her.

Harry knew the next name on the list would be his brothers. "Black, Draco" McGonagall called. A loud buzz of chatter filled the air as Draco stepped up.

He took a deep breath, sat on the stool and placed the worn hat onto his head. "Hm, very curious" the hat said.

"You were born a Malfoy, but adopted by Sirius Black, you are Pure-blood but hate the idea of blood purity so not Slytherin, you like reading but like pranks so not Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff perhaps" the hat mused.

"Gryffindor, Gryffindor" Draco chanted. The hat picked this up at once "Gryffindor eh?" it said.

"Well you're certainly brave enough" the hat continued "and loyal too, yes, I think it had better be...Gryffindor!".

The table on the far right hand side exploded into cheers and applause. The Twins and Percy were especially ecstatic as Draco took the hat off, gave a thumbs up to Harry and went and sat down.

The sorting continued as Boot, Trevor, was sorted into Ravenclaw.

Harry paid little attention for awhile, but picked up a few names, "Crabbe, Vincent" became a Slytherin, while the Irish boy who he found out was called Seamus Finnegan, become the second new Gryffindor.

Gregory Goyle became a Slytherin as well and Harry's best friend Hermione Granger became the second new Gryffindor girl behind Lavender Brown.

The next name he paid attention to was Neville's. Neville strode forward confidently and placed the hat on his head. The hat took a bit more time but in the end shouted "Gryffindor!" and a relieved Neville ran over to join his friends giving Harry a smile.

"Nott, Theodore". Harry's head snapped up. He saw the arrogant, Pure-blood swagger up to the stool. He sat down, placed the hat on his head. No sooner had it been lowered than it cried out "Slytherin!". Nott strutted over to the far left hand table and sat down next to his two friends 'goons more like' though Harry with amusement.

"Potter, Harry" Professor McGonagall called. Just as when Draco had been sorted, his name caused a loud buzzing of voices to fill the hall as people pointed and speculated as to where he'd be placed.

Harry himself was nervous but resolute.

He stepped forward, sat on the stool and placed the hat on his head as everyone else had done. "Ah, Mr Potter" the hat said.

"You are just as curious as your brother, difficult to place". The hat pondered "let me see, a thirst for knowledge but too much of a mischief maker so not Ravenclaw, not Hufflepuff...how about Slytherin".

"No!" Harry said aloud. "really?, but you could be great, it's all in your head and Slytherin would help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that".

"Not Slytherin" Harry repeated again.

"Oh, well, if you're sure" said the hat "better be...Gryffindor!". The entire Gryffindor table began cheering, whistling and clapping madly. As Harry left the stool and walked over to them, the Twins chanted "we got Potter, we got Potter!". Harry sat down next to his friends and brother who'd saved him a seat.

The watched the rest of the sorting, waiting for Ron's name to appear. Dean Thomas became a Gryffindor. Harry zoned out until he heard "Weasley, Ronald". An apprehensive looking Ron stepped forward and for a moment, just stared at the hat, as if the hat would attack him.

Reluctantly, he sat on the stool and placed it on his head. "Ah, another Weasley" the hat said. "I know just where to put you".

Ron took a deep breath, "Gryffindor!" the hat shouted loudly. The entire Gryffindor table cheered and clapped as a pink faced Ron headed for the table.

"Zabini, Blaise" became a Slytherin and the ceremony concluded. Professor McGonagall rolled up the list of names and removed the sorting hat and stool to a side room just off the main hall.

When she returned and sat next to Professor Dumbledore as Harry now needed to think of him, Dumbledore stood up with a kind smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts" he said. "A few start of term announcements, all students please be aware that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all of you" he looked especially at the Weasley twins as he said this.

"The list of contraband now comprises some 400 items and can be viewed at any time in Mr Filch's office".

The surveyed them all seriously "and finally, please note that this year, the third floor corridor is out of bounds to all students, that is all, enjoy the feast". Dumbledore sat back down and Harry noticed the table fill up with food and drink.

"That's odd" Percy said frowning. "What is Perce?" Harry asked.

"Well" the prefect replied "Dumbledore usually gives us all a reason not to go somewhere, like the forest being too dangerous, you'd think he'd tell the reason for not going in that corridor".

No one else gave much thought but Harry was thinking too as he surveyed the head table. Severus waved at him and he waved back. Hagrid waved too and Harry responded with a wave.

Harry saw a man wearing a turban and looking rather twitchy. The man looked at him and Harry felt a sharp pain in the scar on his forehead.

"Argh" he said.

"What's wrong Harry?" Draco asked.

Harry shook his head "tell you later" he said and Draco nodded.

"Perce?" he said.

"Yeah Harry" the older boy answered as he put down his fork.

"Who's that sitting next to Professor Snape?". Percy looked at the staff table.

"Oh, that's Professor Quirrell, our new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher" he said.

Harry looked at Quirrell again. The man was now eating his meal. Harry got the feeling he wouldn't get on too well with his new Professor.

Though he couldn't say why.

* * *

Once the feast had finished and everyone was full and happy, Dumbledore stood up and said "well now, after this feast, bedtime I think, goodnight everyone and see you in the morning".

Harry, Draco and their friends followed Percy from the table, out of the great hall and up the stairs. "Follow me everyone, be careful, the stairs move" Percy warned the first years.

After some time, they reached a portrait hanging on a wall. Harry who had not been told how to get in, looked at Percy, dumbstruck.

"It's alright Harry, you just tell the fat lady in the painting the password and she'll let you in".

Harry nodded and watched as Percy approached it "password" the woman said.

"Caput Draconis" Percy responded.

"Correct" the woman said and the painting swung aside to reveal the entrance to the tower.

Harry stepped in after Percy and found himself in a spacious, comfortable, living area that was obviously the common room.

As the other first years crowded in behind and next to Harry, Percy informed them "first years boys dormitory up the stairs, the third room".

He then addressed the girls, "first year girls, down the stairs, second room".

Harry, Draco, Ron and Neville said "night" to Hermione and headed up the stairs to their dormitory.

They found themselves in a spacious room containing six four poster beds with crimson hangings.

Next to each bed was a large window and in the centre of the room was a stove.

Harry noted that their trunks had been brought up already as had their pets cages.

Hedwig was absent and Harry knew she'd been taken to the owlery.

"This is amazing" said Draco as he bounced on his bed. The others voiced their agreement. The door opened again and two other boys stepped in, looking around at the room.

Harry walked over to them "hi, I'm Harry" he said shaking their hands. He introduced the others "this is my brother Draco, Ron and Neville".

"I'm Dean Thomas" said the dark skinned boy, "I'm Muggle-born and didn't even know I had magic till Professor McGonagall came and told me.

"Seamus Finnegan" said Seamus, "I'm half and half, me Dad's a Muggle but me Mam's a Witch, big shock for him when he found out!".

With introductions complete they all went to bed due to feeling very tired.

Harry fell into a peaceful sleep.

He had arrived, at last.

* * *

Hi everyone, hope you enjoyed reading this first chapter. All reviews welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: These characters belong to the awesome JK Rowling except for Molly, David, Lucy and Janice who I created. I am making no money from this.

* * *

Hi everyone, welcome to the second chapter of the New Marauders adventures at Hogwarts. Just a quick note that this story will be a lot more centred on those at Hogwarts though James and co will have a lot going on too.

* * *

Chapter Two: The Scar Enigma

Harry got up early on Monday. He grabbed a towel from his trunk and went and showered. He got out of the bathroom clean and refreshed, ready to start the day.

As he was getting dressed, Draco yawned and said "morning Harry".

"Morning Draco" Harry responded as he slipped his robes on and picked up his hat.

He'd just finished getting dressed when Neville sat up, scratched, yawned and said "morning guys".

"Morning Nev" they responded.

Once they were all ready, they knew they'd have to get Ron up. Their friend was definitely not a morning person which meant such a task would be very difficult to accomplish.

Harry had a way however. There was a spell he'd been taught by his Dad. He picked up his wand from the bedside table and aimed it at the still snoring Ron. "Aguamenti" he said clearly. A jet of water shot from the wand tip, straight at his friend.

When the water hit him, the effect was immediate. Ron's eyes shot open, he jumped from the bed, got twisted in his bed sheets and fell in a tangled heap on the floor. "Who...what?" he said intelligently. He looked up to see Harry doubled over in fits of laughter as were Neville, Draco, Dean and Seamus.

"Oh very funny, you lot" he said grumpily. Grabbing a towel from his trunk he stomped off into the bathroom.

"Good one Harry" Seamus said, still laughing.

"You need to teach me that one" Dean said smirking.

Seamus and Dean got dressed and headed down to the common room while Harry, Draco and Neville waited for Ron.

The aforementioned boy, reentered the dormitory after twenty minutes. By now he was not looking cross any longer. He was actually grinning as if he had appreciated the joke.

After Ron was dressed and had picked up his wand and school bag, he, Harry, Draco and Neville descended to the common room.

They smirked as they saw, unsurprisingly, their friend Hermione, sat on a sofa in a corner of the room. Her nose was buried in a book and she didn't notice as they crept up to her.

"Boo!" Harry shouted.

"Argh!", Hermione jumped a foot in the air and looked rather put out when she saw Harry and the others grinning at her.

"I can't believe you're reading now Hermione" Draco said.

"As a matter of fact we all will before breakfast".

Ron shook his head defiantly "oh no I'm not" he said backing away.

Neville who loved reading sat down. He was joined a moment later by Harry who aside from loving reading had made a promise to work hard (he was already going back on his prank promise).

"Draco?" Ron appealed desperately. Draco shrugged helplessly and sat down on the large sofa, digging out a book on Potions.

Ron threw his arms up in frustration and sat down as well. He chose to read the DADA text book as was Harry. That being the one subject Ron was really interested in.

They spent half an hour reading through their text books. When Harry looked at his watch he noted that the time was ten past eight, "come on guys, better get some breakfast before class".

The five of them got up, slung their bags over their shoulders and walked over to the portrait hole. As they were heading down to the great hall they bumped into Fred and George Ron's older brothers.

"Good morning Ickle Firsties" they teased, grinning widely.

"Come on" said George.

"Let's introduce you to some notable Gryffindors" said Fred.

The five agreed and followed The Twins to the double doors into the hall. Just as they were about to go in a water balloon fell from the ceiling.

It narrowly missed Harry who ducked.

"What the hell?" said Harry, feeling annoyed. It was far too early in the morning for major pranks.

"Peeves, stop that" said Fred. The group of five looked up to the ceiling and stared in amazement. The most unusual being ever, was hovering above them, wearing a jester outfit with a bell strewn hat. In his hands he held several water balloons.

The creature, halted in the act of throwing a balloon as if Fred and George were Generals and he was a soldier.

"Come down here Peeves" George said.

The creature zoomed down towards them cackling.

Once he was in front of them, Fred and George said together "Peeves The Poltergeist, meet Harry, Ron, Draco, Hermione and Neville, they're pranksters too".

Peeves looked at them critically as if not believing that they could possibly be pranksters. The name clicked in Harry's head. It evidently did in Draco's too as they both said "Peeves? as in the one who helped our Dad's and Uncles?".

Peeves frowned at them "the only students I ever helped were the Marauders" said Peeves before cackling again.

"Peeves, meet Harry Potter and Draco Black, the son's of James Potter and Sirius Black". Peeves's eyes widened, first in shock and then in jubilation.

"New Marauders!, new Marauders!" he shouted happily.

He swiftly shook their hands and the hands of their friends.

"Please pass on my regards to the old Marauders" Peeves said.

Almost as an after thought he promised "I won't prank you anymore I won't, if you need help, I'm here".

Harry was stunned that the first new friend he'd made at Hogwarts was a Poltergeist and not only a Poltergeist, but the very one that had been such an ally of the Marauders while they were at school.

The five New Marauders as they'd now been termed (it was a name Harry liked a lot), plus Fred and George headed into the great hall.

The seven Gryffindors went and sat at their house table. The New Marauders sat down together while The Twins went and sat next to their friend Lee Jordan.

As Harry, Draco, Neville, Ron and Hermione were eating their breakfast and chatting about what their first day might be like, Harry said "here comes Professor McGonagall.

The other four looked up from their food and saw that, sure enough, their stern looking Head of House was heading along their table handing out timetables to the other first years.

She smiled at the students as she handed them their timetables, all except Fred and George who she had words with, looking very stern.

"Good morning, Potter, Weasley, Granger, Black and Longbottom" she said, greeting each one in turn.

"Good morning Professor" they chorused. She sorted through the remaining timetables and handed them to the Marauders.

They thanked her and as she walked off up to the staff table, they began checking their schedule.

"Transfiguration first, then double Potions until lunch" said Harry as he ate a piece of toast that he'd slathered with butter.

"Charms after lunch, then Herbology and finally History of Magic" Draco finished off.

"Defence is first on Tuesday" remarked Ron, his mouth full of cereal.

"Ron for heaven's sake" said Hermione in exasperation.

"What?" Ron mumbled through his food.

"Swallow first, then talk" she said, shaking her head at how he could eat so much all the time.

* * *

It was not too hard to find the Transfiguration classroom after they'd finished their breakfast. The reason for this was that both Harry and Draco had been on tours of Hogwarts several times with Hagrid and Severus (Harry had to remember to call him Professor Snape).

The five of them were among the first to arrive at the classroom and waited outside for the others to arrive, greeting Dean, Seamus and two girls Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown.

They all waited until the rest of the class turned up.

As they were taking this class as just Gryffindor they were able to go in as soon as the remaining Gryffindor first appeared looking embarrassed.

The five Marauders chose seats towards the front of the class so they could see the blackboard and hear Professor McGonagall much easier.

After Professor McGonagall had taken the register, she had some very serious words of warning for the whole class, "Transfiguration is some of the most dangerous and complex magic that is taught in this castle" she looked around at the class "I will therefore say this, anyone messing around or not paying attention in class, will no longer be welcome in my class, you have been warned" she told them, her eyes boring into them with a penetrating stare.

"Do you understand?", she asked the class. They all answered in the affirmative and she walked up to the blackboard.

"In this class you will learn how to transfer one object into another" she told them. "It will take time and patience, some of you may not be able to do it at all, it is about...concentration", she said this last bit directly to Lavender and Parvati who were talking.

They became silent immediately.

The Professor reached into her desk and pulled out a box of matchsticks and handed one each to the students, "today you will be attempting to transfigure this matchstick" she held her one aloft "into a needle, I don't expect anyone to get it perfect, just try your hardest" she told them.

"Now repeat after me, Par Acus" McGonagall instructed.

They repeated the phrase several times, "good, now wave your wand at the matchstick and repeat the phrase".

They spent the rest of the lesson attempting to change the matchstick. By 9:55, the Professor called a halt and inspected all of the matches.

All of the New Marauders had managed to make headway with theirs. Three of them had turned theirs silver and Harry and Draco had managed to make theirs pointed.

Professor McGonagall awarded Harry and Draco five points each and gave two each to Hermione, Neville and Ron. The rest of the class had made almost no headway.

* * *

Their second lesson of the day that would take them through to lunch was a double Potions lesson. The class of Gryffindors and Slytherins was already seated, with books and potion kits out ready when Professor Snape swept into his Dungeon classroom.

He hung up his cloak and surveyed his class with a smile "hello first years, most of you will already know but for those who don't I'm Professor Severus Snape and I teach Potions".

There was a chorus of hello's with Harry and Draco clapping. "Now the first thing that you all must understand about Potions is that it is a precise art form, it is not easy to make a potion" he grinned "but that is why we are all here, to learn, so let's begin, turn to page 2 of your text books, read and copy the paragraph basic potions and ingredients and I will ask you some questions in ten minutes".

There was a rustling of books and a scratching of quills as the class began to write.

Ten minutes later, Severus said "ok everyone, time up".

He directed a question at Neville "Mr Longbottom where would I find a Bezoar?".

"In the stomach of a goat Sir" Neville answered promptly. Severus smiled "correct Mr Longbottom, five points to Gryffindor".

He looked next at Nott, "Mr Nott, what would I get if I added Powdered Root of Asphodel to an Infusion of Wormwood?". Nott grinned as if he thought that he didn't need to try "I've no idea Professor" Nott leaned back in his chair.

Severus lost his smile "Mr Nott I suggest you try harder before I take five points from Slytherin". Nott's face fell. Clearly the arrogant boy had not expected his Head of House to take points away.

"Mr Potter, what would I get if I added Powdered Root of Asphodel to an Infusion of Wormwood?". Harry recalled what he'd written, "the Draught of Living Death" he answered.

Severus's face lit up "correct Mr Potter, take five points for Gryffindor".

Severus's eyes scanned the room as he looked for the next person to ask. His eyes fell on a girl who had as yet not spoken.

"Miss Greengrass" he said, "what kind of potion is Amortentia?". The girl said rather shyly, "a love potion Professor, it makes the drinker think they are in love with the person who gave it to them".

"One hundred percent correct, well done, take five points for Slytherin". The girl smiled. Draco who'd been looking over at her, saw her smile at him.

He felt an odd sensation. A sensation he'd never felt before. He smiled back and turned to Harry. His brother was looking at him with a knowing grin on his face.

When the bell rang for lunch, Harry deciding that he needed to tell someone about his scar, but not wanting to worry his parents, approached Severus as he was tidying up his desk.

Draco who he'd promised to tell everything hung back as well, while Harry told Ron, Neville and Hermione to go on ahead. He didn't want any of them to know just yet about his scar.

When Severus turned around he found himself face to face with Harry. Draco was standing just behind him, a hand on his brothers shoulder.

"Is there something wrong Harry?" Severus asked him in concern.

Harry took a deep breath and nodded, "yes there is, it's...my scar". Severus's head flicked upwards to the famous lightning bolt shaped scar.

"Every time I look at Professor Quirrell it seems to hurt, I thought at first that it be just random but, it happens whenever I look at him".

"I see" Severus said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"I will tell the Headmaster about this Harry".

"No!" Harry said quickly and loudly. Severus looked at him in surprise "why don't you want him to know?" asked Severus.

"It might be nothing or at least nothing to do with Quirrell" Harry explained "I don't want Professor Quirrell to get in trouble for nothing".

Severus sighed, "alright Harry, this will stay between us for now, but..." he held up a hand "if I find out that Quirrell is connected with this then I must inform the Headmaster right away".

Harry nodded reluctantly. He knew there was no getting around it.

"Thanks Professor" he said.

"When we're alone you can call me Uncle Sev" Severus told him with a smile as he hugged him.

* * *

After lunch, they had Charms. The lesson was about the floating charm. The class was tasked with lifting a feather with their wands. A rather humorous incident occurred as Seamus waved his wand too aggressively. The boys feather exploded, resulting in his face looking like he'd been playing in coal.

Herbology followed after that and was quite fun. But after that came the most boring lesson Harry had had. The five of them got seats near the front of the class, ready to pay attention to what was being said but found Professor Binns to be the most boring teacher at Hogwarts, possibly even in the world.

Binns rambled on and on about Goblin rebellions and had them copy down from text books. By the end of the lesson, the only one of the five that was still fully alert was Hermione. Ron was snoring, Draco and Neville were chatting and Harry had tuned out Binns, fantasising about being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

* * *

That night after dinner, Harry decided it was about time to contact his family on the two way mirror. He was going to write them a letter but wanted to let them know all his major news.

"Dad, it's Harry" Harry said, speaking into the mirror. There was a lot of rustling and then his fathers face appeared in the other mirror.

"It's good to see you Son, how's everything been so far?" he asked anxiously.

"It's been good Dad, I'm in Gryffindor". He heard a loud "yes!" from the other mirror and James called to Lucy and Molly "he did it, he's in Gryffindor!".

Harry rolled his eyes. His Dad turned back to the mirror "so how's the first day been?". Harry explained his encounter with Nott and his two goons Crabbe and Goyle on the train and his classes.

"Doesn't surprise me about those three" James remarked "their fathers were all in big with Voldemort". Harry gasped. He knew those families had been dark, but he'd had no idea.

"The three of them claimed that they'd been Imperiused", James snorted in derision "bought their freedom with a lot of gold, only reason they aren't more influential now is down to Minister Bones, she can't convict them but she can't ensure they don't control the Ministry".

Harry was shocked by this news. He revealed that Binns was still teaching at Hogwarts.

"Still as boring as ever?" James enquired. Harry grinned, "the most boring person I've ever know". James nodded, "he always was dull, even when I was at school".

"Well I'll talk to you again soon Son, I suspect you want to speak to your mother and sister".

Harry nodded and smiled when Lucy's face appeared "hello sweetheart" his mum said, smiling.

"Hey Mum, how's it going?" he asked.

"A lot quieter without you and that brother of yours" she told him.

Harry laughed "I bet Molly's making up for us not being there".

They chatted for awhile about his classes "are you behaving yourself?" she asked, her eyes narrowed. Harry nodded, "yep, not pulled any pranks yet" he confirmed.

"Good, remember no pranks, I love you".

"Love you too Mum". There was a rustling sound and his sister's face appeared in the mirror. She was grinning widely on being able to see and speak to her big brother.

They talked for a bit before Molly said "something's wrong, what is it?". Harry decided to tell her. She could keep a secret and maybe she'd be able to help "my scar hurt's whenever I see the new DADA teacher Professor Quirrell" he told her.

"Weird" she said, frowning. "I'll see if there's anything on curse scars in the library" she promised.

"Thanks Sis" he said, feeling very grateful to her.

* * *

He had so far not had too many run in's with Nott, but unfortunately the next morning the first lesson was Flying Class. Harry still felt indignant that he, his brother and Neville and Ron had to do it as they were very experience flyers already but Professor McGonagall made it clear they had no choice.

It was thus an annoyed group that made their way through a stone archway to a patch of grass on the opposite side of the main castle.

"Good morning class" began the Flying Instructor Madam Hooch. They said polite good morning's back. "Today I will be teaching you the basics of flying".

Harry had his hand in the air, "yes Mr..." she consulted the list "Potter, what is it?".

"Madam Hooch, Me my brother and two of my friends have already learned to fly so we don't need this class" he said politely but firmly.

Madam Hooch looked furious "Mr Potter, I don't care if you are a professional Quidditch player, you still need flying lesson's because it's the rule".

Harry said nothing in reply to this and neither did the others. They were first taught how to command the broom into their hand.

Harry, Draco, Neville and Ron along with some others did it at once, most took a few tries. Hermione's simply rolled over and over.

Harry was happy to not that Nott's broom came up and whacked him in the face. 'Karma' thought Harry for being so rude and nasty to people.

Some very odd happened when they were mounting their brooms, Dean Thomas's broom went haywire and began lifting off the ground without his command, he was flung around on it before slamming into the castle wall and his subsequent fall only being halted by a jutting statue attached to the wall. He ended up on the ground with a broken wrist and had to be taken to the hospital wing.

The ever arrogant Nott began to make fun of Dean and picked up something off the ground "did you see the way that idiot Thomas fell on his backside, that's why they shouldn't let Mudblood's be taught here".

He tossed the object he'd picked up from the ground. It was a glass orb containing football figures. "Give it here Nott" Harry said squaring up to him.

Nott snorted "or what Potter? you want it, catch!".

Nott flung the orb over his shoulder in the direction of the castle wall. Harry sat on his broom "Harry no, you could get expelled!" Hermione warned him.

Harry ignored her. He knew that orb was one of Dean's most prized possessions and he wouldn't let it be destroyed.

He kicked off hard from the ground and zoomed after it. He caught it near a window on the first floor, just before it smashed into the wall.

As he flew away with the glass orb clutched triumphantly in his hand, he didn't see his Head of House Professor McGonagall staring out of the window in shock and disbelief.

As he landed near his class mates and many of them congratulated him on his flying and catching skills a loud voice cut through everything "Mr Potter" Harry's stomach dropped violently. He turned around and saw his Head of House standing a few feet away looking very serious.

"Come with me please". Harry sighed in resignation as he put down the broom and followed her through the archway. This was it he knew. He was going to be expelled. Madam Hooch had warned him and he hadn't listened.

They headed back into the castle and up to the first floor. They however, did not stop at the Professor's office as Harry'd expected but instead continued on through corridors and up stairs until they reached the second floor. They turned a corner and the Professor halted outside the first door on the left.

She instructed a confused and worried Harry to wait. She knocked on the door, opened it and said "Professor Quirrell, may I borrow Wood for a moment?".

"O..oh y...yes of c...course" came the stuttered reply. Harry wondered what Wood was and thought for a moment it might be a cane.

It turned out to be a rather burly, dark haired boy. "Oliver Wood meet Harry Potter". They shook hands "Wood is Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team" she informed Harry who wondered why he needed to know this.

"Wood I have found you a Seeker!" she announced happily as she gestured to Harry. Wood's eyes lit up "that's wonderful Professor!, can I start training him tonight?" he asked.

"He may not need much Mr Wood" she informed him "I am reliably told by others that he has been having games of Quidditch since he was seven".

Wood was amazed "that's fantastic!, means we can start straight away on learning tactics and team training".

* * *

The next lesson that the New Marauders attended was their first Defence Against The Dark Arts lesson and Harry had to say he was thoroughly disappointed. Not only did Quirrell stutter which caused issues understanding him but he seemed afraid of his own shadow. His lessons involved no practical work, only copying from text books and asking questions.

To add to the boredom, his scar was still hurting every time he looked at Quirrell. It was starting to bug him.

* * *

That afternoon during lunch, Harry revealed everything. About his scar hurting which understandably made the others worried, even Draco who he'd already told.

He also told the incredulous group what had happened with McGonagall "so I thought she was going to expel me or something" he told them "but she took me up to the Defence Against The Dark Arts class room and introduced me to Wood the Captain of our Quidditch team, I'm the new Seeker!".

The others stared at him in open mouthed shock. They soon recovered and began congratulating him. "I'll have to write to Mum and Dad for my broom" he said, thickly through a mouthful of chicken sandwich.

"We couldn't help overhearing mate" said The Twins as they sat down next to Harry.

"Oh that's right, you're on the team too aren't you" said Harry. He remembered Ron telling him about it during the summer.

"Yeah, we're Beaters" said Fred.

"We'll keep you safe while you grab the snitch" assured George.

* * *

That night, Harry felt very nervous. He'd sent his owl Hedwig off with a letter to his parents about his second day of school.

He had the feeling that rather than send a reply by letter they'd be calling him on the two way mirror.

Sure enough, as he sat in the deserted common room (most people were at dinner), he heard rustling and then the sound of his Mother's voice "Harry James Potter!".

Harry grimaced. When his Mum got angry, few could match her temper. "What did you think you were doing? you could have been expelled!" she shrieked.

"Calm down love, let him speak" came his Dad's voice.

James appeared in the mirror, "hey Son, congratulations on getting on the house Quidditch team, I didn't manage it until second year".

Before Harry could reply, his Mum's angry voice cut in "don't go praising him!, it was highly stupid, he could have been thrown out!".

"Lucy, he knows how to fly and he's now on the team, surely you can congratulate him" James said reasonably.

"I...oh, very well" Lucy said.

Her face reappeared, "Harry, I'm not happy about how you did it, or the lack of care you showed but...well done, it was a good thing you did and well done for getting on the team".

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. The hard part was over. Now he need to persuade them to send him his broom.

"Mum, Dad" Harry began "I don't want to have to use the school broom's for practice and matches because they're ancient and erratic so I was wondering..." he paused as he tried to find the right words.

"IfIcouldhavemynimbus2000senthere!" he said in such a rush that his parents stared at him in bemusement.

"Pardon Harry?" his father asked, grinning. His Mother was also smiling.

Harry took a deep breath and repeated clearly "I was wondering if you could send me my Nimbus 2000". His parents regarded him calmly.

They seemed to be considering "alright Harry, we'll send it back with Hedwig and Merlin" his father said.

"You'd better behave yourself in training and matches though young man" his mother warned him.

Waggling a finger she said "if we get one hint that you aren't being serious about it, we'll come straight to Hogwarts and take the broom back".

Harry gulped and nodded. He knew they were serious. He was too. He had dreamed of being a Quidditch star ever since he was little.

* * *

The rest of the week passed by uneventfully with classes, training and homework taking up most of his time. Harry however, was working on a way to get back at Nott for the way he'd treated Dean Thomas.

He and the other New Marauders had been ensconced in the room of requirement during their free moments, working on a plan.

"It's fairly simple, it's just to target Nott and his two goons" Harry explained. The others were shaking their heads. "You need to target the other first year Slytherin boys or people will be suspicious" Draco explained.

Neville, Ron and Hermione nodded.

"Stink bombs is the obvious answer, but we'd never get in their common room" Neville said.

"yes we would" said Hermione "the invisibility cloak remember?".

"Oh yeah" Harry said. He'd almost forgotten about it.

It was soon decided that using the invisibility cloak and armed with the password into the Slytherin common room and hidden under the cloak, the five would sneak in and plant the stink bombs in the clothes of Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini.

Hermione even dropped one into the robes of Pansy Parkinson a simpering and annoying girl who enjoyed bullying others and making snide comments.

Just as they were leaving, the effects became obvious. The other Slytherins ran for the door in disgust holding their noses.

Nott, Crabb, Goyle, Parkinson and Zabini retreated away from the disgust and laughter. The common room door opened and the five Marauders slipped out and into the corridor.

They got a fright when they saw Percy walking towards them. He reached them, pushed them round a corner and removed the cloak "thought so" he said, grinning at them.

"Nice prank you pulled, can smell it from here" Percy laughed.

"Get going though, don't want the Slytherins to catch you" he said and covered them over with the cloak. They ran up the stairs and away from the dungeons.

They were just about to take the cloak off when they saw Professor McGonagall leave the great hall.

They fled up the stairs and kept running, losing track of where they'd gone.

They were about to return to Gryffindor tower when a familiar pair of yellow eyes peered round the corner. Harry's heart quickened, it was Mrs Norris Filch's cat.

Harry was sure the cat was part Kneasle because it seemed to be able to detect anyone, even under invisibility cloaks. The cat began to meow loudly. They heard another voice that made them freeze "what is it my pretty?", it was the voice of Argus Filch the caretaker.

He hoved into view, his long brown hair and lined face, looking angry "where you? show yourselves!" he shouted.

The five of them fled towards a locked door. Hermione whispered "Alohamora" and the door swung open. They ran inside and shut it, waiting until they heard retreating footsteps.

It was then that they heard a loud snarling sound behind them. They pulled the cloak off and as one turned around. They came face to face with a giant, three headed dog. The dog was slathering at the mouth and snapping it's jaws. It swiped a paw at them.

They ducked out of the way and ran screaming in terror from the room, through the corridor and all the way back to the tower.

"What doing they think they're doing keeping a creature like that in a school?" said Ron angrily as they settle down in the common room.

"It was behind a locked door" pointed out Neville.

"It was too easy to get passed though" Hermione said. All eyes turned to her "I learnt Alohamora from one of my text books and that door had no other protection so anyone could open it and go in".

"It must have been guarding something" said Draco.

"It was" replied Hermione "underneath it's feet there was a trapdoor".

"So" said Harry "there is a giant black dog and a trapdoor, which means that whatever it's guarding is either highly secret, dangerous or both".

They were all silent for awhile before Harry said "the question now, is what is it guarding, why does it need guarding and..."

"From what" finished Draco, who'd evidently been thinking along the same lines.

"Exactly" said Harry.

"We can't ask any of the teachers" pointed out Neville "they'd be suspicious about why we want to know".

"We could ask Hagrid" Ron said. He said it in a way that said, he thought it might be a stupid idea.

Harry smiled "great idea Ron!". Ron beamed.

"We'll ask Hagrid on Saturday, he asked us all to tea on Saturday afternoon in his cabin". Harry remembered something then.

He jumped to his feet and the others looked alarmed "Harry what's up? is it your scar?" asked Hermione.

Harry shook his head "no, it's just something I read in the Prophet a few weeks back about a break in at Gringotts" he said.

"Wait here!" he called out as he ran to the stairs and raced up to his dormitory.

He reappeared after five minutes carrying a newspaper with him. He set it down on the coffee table and began to read an article dated 20th August 1991.

"Gringotts Goblins today revealed that an attempt has been made to enter one of the vaults in the lower levels of the bank, the vault on which security was breached number 713 had been emptied earlier that day meaning that nothing was taken, the criminal however managed to escape the bank".

"You don't think..." began Ron.

Harry nodded, "yes Ron, I think that the object that dog is guarding is the same one taken from vault 713".

"But how are the two connected?" asked Neville.

"That's easy" said Harry, Draco and Hermione at once. They all looked at each other. "You go first" Draco insisted to Harry. Harry shook his head "no you".

"We'll say it together" Hermione said. The other two nodded while Ron and Neville looked baffled.

"Vault 713 belongs to Dumbledore and Hagrid removed something from that vault on the twentieth of August" they explained.

"I spoke to Hagrid and he told me when he came over the next day, he didn't say what the object was but he said it was lucky he'd removed it before".

"So you're saying that inside this school is an object so dangerous that it needs to be guarded by a giant dog, trapdoor and other protections" said Ron.

"Yes" said Harry "and we're going to find out what".

* * *

Another chapter done everyone. Hope you liked it. I wasn't sure whether to end it there but I felt the ending of the chapter worked too well to keep adding more.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Making no money from this. Just writing for fun.

* * *

Hi everyone, sorry this chapter took so long to write but I've been very busy this past week. The chapters will hopefully take less time now.

* * *

Chapter Three: The Philosophers Stone & Quidditch

The first Saturday of term rolled round at last. Harry got up early that morning. As a rule he liked to sleep in on the weekend but since he was writing long letters to his parents, sister and uncles about his first week of school and with them visiting Hagrid that day he'd felt he needed an early start.

He'd already showered, got dressed and headed down to the common room by the time the others descended. The first two to meet him were Draco and Hermione as both of them liked to get up early.

Neville came down about five minutes after them and Ron, looking tousle haired and yawning a lot, descended down the stairs ten minutes after Neville.

Once they were all assembled, Harry looked at Draco and nodded. Draco turned to the others and said "Harry has something to tell you all".

He took a long look around the common room and finding it thankfully deserted he gave Harry the thumbs up.

Harry took a deep breath and began to speak "you know that the scar on my forehead is a curse scar", his friends nodded.

"Right" continued Harry "well, since the start of term feast the scar has been hurting, at first it was whenever I looked at Professor Quirrell, but now...it's whenever I'm anywhere near him" Harry finished.

"Oh god" Ron said, sounding really concerned. Neville and Hermione jumped in quickly "I think we should research this" Hermione said.

"I agree" Neville said "I've heard Dad talking about curse scars and he says there's loads of books on the subject".

Ron decided to interject "but Harry's case is unique, all the books on curse focus on one's where there's a chance to stop it, Harry's the only know survivor of the Killing Curse and we still aren't sure why".

There was lively discussion on the subject all through breakfast and during their trek through the heavy rain and down the sloping lawns to Hagrids cabin which lay on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"We should have stayed in the castle, I'm soaked" Ron complained as they reached the cabin.

"Oh stop whining Ron, you're no more wet than the rest of us" Draco cut in.

The others nodded in agreement as Harry knocked on the wooden door.

"They heard a shuffling of feet from inside and Fang's booming barks. "Get back!, get back Fang!" they heard Hagrid called out in exasperation.

His dog was highly excitable and prone to leap up happily at any guests. The problem of course was that Fang was a large boarhound and didn't know his own strength.

If he had been raised by someone dark like the Nott's he would have been vicious, Harry mused as the door was opened.

Standing in front of them as large as ever was their friend and the man who was like an Uncle to them all Rubeus Hagrid. His long, dark hair and beard were as untidy as ever and his hands were caked in mud. Evidently he'd been tending to the vegetable patch next to his cabin.

"Glad ye could make et" he said happily as he stepped back to let them in. He walked over to a water barrel in a corner of the room and washed his hands.

As Harry took in the sight of the cabin he'd seen so many times over the years, he mused that it hadn't changed a bit. The cabin contained two stories, one for Hagrid and another for any guest he might have.

Harry saw the same reinforced bed was over in it's usual place and rabbits and other animals were hanging from the ceiling.

"How've ye been keepin?" the jovial half-giant asked as he began to boil a copper kettle over the fire.

"Well we've been very busy obviously" Harry answered. He was determined not to discuss his scar with anyone save for his friends, his sister and Severus, the only one's who would not go into panic mode and would hopefully help him find a reason for the pain.

"Yeah, it's certainly very different being a student here compared to just visiting" Draco added as Hagrid slipped on some oven gloves and took the kettle off the fire and brought it over to a side table where he poured the water into a tea pot. Harry recalled that his Dad had said Hagrid had had the same tea pot for over fifty years.

Hagrid carried the tray containing tea pot, milk jug, sugar bowl and six spoons and cups and packet of rich tea biscuits over to them where they'd taken seats at the large circular table in the centre of the room.

He sat down and after opening the biscuits began to make his tea.

"Hagrid, what did you get out of Gringotts for Dumbledore?", Harry had no idea it truly belonged to Dumbledore, he simply hoped to wrong foot Hagrid. Hagrid was a great person but very loose tongued.

"The stone doesn't belong to Dumbledore" Hagrid said before he could stop himself. He then gasped, "I shouldn a said tha" he said, looking annoyed with himself.

"So it's a stone that the dogs guarding" Harry mused.

"No, I'm not sayin any more" Hagrid said to them angrily.

"Oh come on Hagrid, we're not asking what the object is" Hermione said sweetly "we just want to know who's protecting it" she finished.

"No!" Hagrid replied sharply.

"It wouldn't do any harm to tell us and after all, you know everything that happens around here" Hagrid beamed at Hermione's praise and forgetting to be annoyed said: "oh alright then, suppose it couldn hurt ta tell ya, now let me see...".

They began making their tea as they waited for Hagrid to tell them, "first off there's Professor Dumbledore, then there's Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Snape..." he paused checking off on his fingers "oh and Professor Quirrell".

"Quirrell!" Harry shouted.

Hagrid looked at him in concern, "sorry Hagrid it's just...isn't he a bit new to be involved in this" Harry said.

"Now look ye three, he's a Hogwarts Professor, it's his duty to protect this school an everythin in it" the Game Keeper responded sternly.

After they'd finished their tea, minus the rock cakes Hagrid had offered and had told Hagrid all about their first week, they said goodbye and walked back up the sloping lawns towards the castle.

"So we now know it's a stone that's being protected, the question is what stone is important enough to guard and who is it being hidden from?" Harry said.

They stopped and sat down on a bench by a clump of bushes near the front doors. "There must be something in the library" Hermione said reasonably.

As no one else could think of a better way to find out what the stone was and why it was being guarded they headed for the library.

Their search however proved to be fruitless. They checked in great wizarding inventions, study of alchemy, the alchemical society's discovery logs for the last two hundred years, powerful magic objects & what they do. Several times they saw a stone mentioned but it turned out to be just a simple potion ingredient and not at all what they were trying to find.

"Oh this is hopeless" Harry growled in frustration as he slammed his book shut. Draco and Neville shut theirs as well. Ron jumped, there was drool on the corner of his mouth and given that they had heard him snoring, it was obvious he'd fallen asleep.

"It has to be somewhere" Hermione said, running her hands through her bushy hair in disappointment.

"There's always the restricted section" Draco said.

"Of course!, that's it!" Harry exclaimed "it's bound to be in there".

"Me and you can come back tonight and look" Neville said.

Harry placed a hand on his friends shoulder, "no Nev, it has to be me and Draco".

"Why?" Hermione said looking annoyed.

"Because..." Harry began and then realised that there wasn't a single reason why it should be just them.

"Well I think I should come since I'm good at improvising" Hermione said.

"We can't all go!" Harry said in irritation.

"Harry's right, the cloak will only fit over four people" Ron put in.

"So how do we decide?" Neville asked.

"We draw lots" Draco said.

Thus it was that the New Marauders headed back in and up to their common room.

Draco raced up to their boys dorm and brought down some straws, he cut them so that four were the same size and one was shorter.

He held them in one hand, keeping the bottoms of the straw covered.

Harry as the unofficial leader, took the first one. Hermione went next, then Ron, then Neville. Draco looked at his and the others.

Neville's was shorter than the others and so with reluctance he agreed to remain behind in the common room.

Harry dashed up to the dorm room, seized the cloak from his trunk and ran back to the common room. Just as they were about to leave, Fred & George entered through the portrait hole and made straight for them.

"Evening ickle Firsties" they teased.

"Sod off you two!" Ron said irritably.

"A little bit touchy this evening Ickle Ronnie" said Fred.

"We didn't just come to tease" said George.

"Oliver, that's Oliver Wood, asked us to tell you that the first practice is tonight at 5 pm Harry". Fred told him.

"Also we couldn't help noticing..." began George.

"...That you were about to use the cloak and figured..." continued Fred.

"...That you could use this as well", finished George as he pulled some yellowish parchment out of a pocket of his robes.

When George unfolded it, the five of them noticed it seemed to be blank.

"Uh, guys" began Ron "why would we need a blank piece of parchment, we've got loads".

The Twins shook their heads, wide grins on their faces "you haven't go parchment like this Ickle Ronniekins" they said together.

"Stop calling me that!" Ron said furiously.

"Come with us" The Twins instructed as they headed upstairs to their dorm room.

When they entered, they found it deserted.

"Shut the door" Fred said.

Hermione who was the last in, closed it behind her.

"Now, this piece of parchment contains a map" said George who took out his wand and tapped the parchment "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" he murmured.

The New Marauders gasped in amazement and astonishment as words began to form on the previously blank parchment.

"Messr's Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief Makers are proud to present: THE MARAUDERS MAP".

Harry and Draco let out yells of surprise and turned to face each other "it's the Marauders Map!" they said in stereo.

They turned to face the other three who were looking at them in puzzlement. Harry recalled that they'd never mentioned the map to anyone before at their parents' request.

"The what?" said Neville sounding baffled.

"The Marauders Map was made by our Dad's, plus Remus and Peter when they were all at Hogwarts together" Harry explained.

"You know how they're all Animagi" Draco began, the other three nodded. Hermione nodded especially vigorously. She'd never forget coming over to Marauder Manor one day in summer and finding a Stag, Rat and Dog chasing each other while Remus Lupin followed after them howling with laughter at their antics.

"Not the sort of thing you forget in a hurry" Ron said, smirking.

"Well", Draco continued, "Uncle Remus is Moony, Uncle Peter is Wormtail, Dad is Padfoot and Uncle James is Prongs".

There was a collective "ahh" from the other three.

A thought jumped into Harry's mind, "hang on" he said, "how have you two got it?, Dad said that Filch confiscated it in their seventh year".

The Twins grins widened so much that their mouths were in danger of moving off their faces.

"We stole it from Filch in our first year" Fred explained.

"Yeah, helped us out a lot over the last two years, since it belongs to your parents and uncles though we figured it was only fair you had it once you got to Hogwarts" George said as he handed the map to Harry.

Harry gazed at the parchment reverently. He and the others watched the tiny dots flit about across the very detailed map.

"Is that..." Harry began as he looked at the Headmasters office and saw the dot labelled Albus Dumbledore pacing.

"Dumbledore?, yeah that's him" Fred said.

"He paces about quite a lot" George told the five of them.

Harry and the others thanked Fred and George and returned to the common room.

* * *

That afternoon, while the group was having lunch in the great hall and talking about Quidditch, two owls arrived. Everyone turned theirs heads upwards towards the sound of the noise and watched as they descended.

As they zoomed to table top level, Harry saw that it was Merlin his parents owl and Hedwig his snowy owl. The pair, carefully deposited a long, thin, parcel wrapped in brown paper and sat on the table next to it.

"Hi Hedwig, hi Merlin" Harry greeted them as he stroked their feathers "if this is what I think it is, then nice timing" he said gratefully.

The two owls hooted, clearly feeling pleased with themselves. Draco and Ron passed some bacon rinds and juice for the owls to refresh them. The owls hooted in gratitude, nipped Harry, Draco and Ron's fingers affectionately and took off, making for the owlery.

The five of them left the great hall and found themselves face to face with Theodore Nott and his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle.

"If that's what I think it is, you're in trouble Potter" Nott sneered.

"I'm allowed to have this broom Nott" Harry retorted calmly. He wasn't going to let his anger get the better of him. Wood had already warned him to be careful as he didn't want him being thrown off the team.

"Yeah sure you are Potter, you'll be for it" Nott said. He looked behind Harry and had evidently seen someone because his eyes narrowed malevolently.

"Professor!" Nott called out. Harry turned around and saw Uncle Severus, no not Severus, Professor Snape, he mentally corrected himself as Severus approached.

"Is there a problem boys?" he said mildly.

"Yes Professor there is, Harry has a broom with him" Nott said smirking. Harry's stomach dropped, he hadn't told his Uncle about having the broom, it might get him in trouble.

"Yes, yes, I know all about that" Severus said smiling and turned away from Nott's shocked expression and the dumbfounded expressions on the faces of his goons.

"Now Potter, what sort of model is it?" he asked in interest.

"It's a Nimbus 2000 Sir" Harry responded promptly.

"Indeed" Severus said smiling "well I understand from Minerva that you start training today, good luck Potter" Severus said before he strode off into the great hall, his cloak flowing out behind him.

"Thanks Professor" Harry said.

He turned to Nott and grinned at the scowl forming on his enemies face "see you later Notty boy" he said, laughing. He and the others walked off in the direction of the stairs leading up to the tower, leaving a seething Nott behind them.

* * *

Harry enjoyed training, but he could truthfully say that it was knackering. Oliver Wood the Captain was fanatical. Harry wasn't surprised. He'd heard from Fred and George that Slytherin had won the Quidditch cup every year since their brother Charlie had left and had won the House Cup for many years before that.

Harry thus could understand where Wood was coming from, but he was still exhausted. When he and the others (they'd come to his first training session) returned to the common room that night, they all felt too exhausted to do much. The time was 9:00 pm and they had to head for the library at around 11:00 pm. They thus summoned a house elf as Sirius had instructed them and ordered some food and pumpkin juice to refresh them.

After eating and going over the plan once more, they relaxed in the common room, worked on homework and waited for the last few stragglers to head up to bed.

Once everyone else was gone, Harry went and got the Marauders Map and his invisibility cloak from his trunk. He had thought he might wake up Dean and Seamus but they were both snoring loudly.

He returned to the common room where the others were waiting and spoke to Neville "once you've opened the portrait hole we'll need you to wait for in the common room Nev" he told the slightly pudgy boy.

"Good luck guys, I'm sure you'll find something" Neville said as he went and opened the portrait hole. Harry slipped the cloak over them and they exited the common room.

They moved carefully down the various stairs, watching out for trick steps and changes. Eventually, they reached the third floor and began moving along the corridor to the library. They had a scare for a second as they saw Professor Quirrell sloping off somewhere, they just missed bumping into him.

They reached the library and pushed the door carefully open, closing it quietly behind them so as not to disturb the vulture like librarian Madam Pince who had living quarters in a room behind her work area.

They inched through the central bookshelf until they reached the gates that led into the restricted section. Fortunately these gates were not locked and so all they had to do was push them open and enter.

While Ron held the lamp aloft, the other three set to work scanning the shelves for any books that mentioned powerful magic artefacts, stones or the study of alchemy.

They found around twelve books on the subject and settled down to read through them. The book simply contained a history of alchemy. The second talked about transfiguring metal into gold, in the third book Harry's attention was piqued when he read the sentence "precious stone", but he found it simply talked about diamonds and the like.

They were nearing the last few books when Ron accidentally knocked the lamp from the table. The four of them stared in horror as it smashed loudly on the stone floor.

Seconds later they heard the voice of Argus Filch through the library doors, "who's in there? show yourselves". They just had time to throw the cloak on and race to the doors before Filch entered. They saw the permanently angry and sour man walk in side by side with his cat Mrs Norris, Harry was certain she was part kneazle given her intelligence.

Right now for instance she was looking towards where they stood, next to the library doors. The four of them having placed a silencing spell on their feet, ran from the library. They had moved so fast they were certain Mrs Norris hadn't noticed but they soon heard loud footsteps and shouting behind them.

The group was forced to run flat out all the way back to Gryffindor tower to escape them. They took the silencing spell off their feet as they reached the portrait hole. The portrait swung aside and, pulling off the cloak they found Neville standing there looking hopeful.

Harry and the others shook their heads in disappointment and lumbered in through the portrait hole. They collapsed into armchairs and on sofas and began to explain everything to Neville. "Bad luck guys" Neville said as he handed around chocolate frogs for them all.

Harry opened his packet and began to eat thoughtfully. He was halfway through eating when he looked at the card. His eyes widened in astonishment and he spat his food out.

"Hey!" Ron said, wiping his face which was covered in chocolate frog.

Draco sitting next to Harry had felt Harry's emotions change and asked through their mental link "what is it?".

"It's the object, I've found out what it is and who it's being protected for" Harry responded through their link.

"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked in concern.

Harry read the chocolate frog card out to them "Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and Head of the Wizengamot, widely considered the best wizard in modern times, is famous for his 1945 duel with and defeat of Grindelwald, his discovery of the twelve uses of dragons blood and his work on alchemy with the noted alchemist and philosopher Nicholas Flamel".

The faces of the group displayed varying emotions, Harry, Draco were grinning, Hermione was overjoyed and began jumping around and Ron and Neville looked puzzled.

"That's it!" Hermione said, "the stone, whatever it is must be connected with Flamel!".

"Exactly" said Draco "that's why we never found anything about it".

"Because Nicholas Flamel is over six hundred years old, so there's no way it would be in any modern books".

"Then how do we find out?" asked Ron.

There was a long silence as the group thought on this problem. Asking for a book on Flamel was right out. Or was it?.

Harry suddenly had a very good idea. They couldn't get the book but someone older could. A Prefect for example.

"Percy would get the book for us" Ron said, as if he'd read Harry's mind.

The four boys were grinning happily but Hermione looked concerned, "but what happens if he's questioned on why he needs the book, whatever book it is".

"Don't worry Mione" Ron assured her, "Percy's good at keeping secrets".

* * *

On Sunday afternoon they managed to corner Percy in the common room where he was chatting to Oliver Wood about Gryffindors chances against Slytherin in October.

"What's up guys?" Percy asked them as they took over to a quiet corner.

"Can you get us a book on Nicholas Flamel from the library?" Harry asked him.

Percy stared at them in amazement, "why do you...never mind, I shouldn't ask, yeah I can, but you'll need to let me know when you're done with it so I can return it".

The five of them beamed at Percy. As promised, that evening Percy met them on their way to the great hall and handed Harry a thick, leather bound book on the life and career of Nicholas Flamel.

That night, after the common room emptied, the five of them sat around, reading the book from cover to cover. It took a long while but near the end of the book they spotted it.

"There!" shouted Hermione as they reached the page. They began to read, "the most famous object created by Mr Flamel and his partner Albus Dumbledore is none other than the Philosopher's Stone, this stone gives the owner eternal life and the ability to create gold from anything, it is no wonder that so many witches and wizards down the centuries have tried to steal it".

"That's it!, that's what Fluffy's guarding!" said Draco excitably.

"Now we have most of the pieces of the puzzle, the final piece is, who in this school would try to steal it" Harry said, voicing their question.

* * *

Their first clue as to who might want the stone, came the following Friday, Harry and the others had just exited the library after working on some homework for Charms and heard voices coming from a nearby storage cupboard.

"Have you found a way to get past that dog yet?". It was Uncle Sev's voice. He sounded angry.

"I d...don't k...know w...what y...you m...mean" stammered an obviously nervous Quirrell.

"You don't want to make an enemy of me Quirrell" Severus warned.

They heard the sound of a scuffle and someone being thrown roughly against a wall "remember where your loyalty lies" Severus said coldly.

The five of them heard the cupboard door opening and hid. Severus stepped out, straightened his robes and walked off. Professor Quirrell came out next. He looked very shaken by the incident.

Harry and Draco were especially shocked. Uncle Sev never usually behaved like that and they couldn't see what Professor Quirrell had done to deserve it.

* * *

They would get no chance to think on it for the next month however as their homework load increased considerably through the rest of September and into October.

On October 1st, Harry decided to call his sister on their two way mirror. There was some momentary static and then "Harry?, Harry are you there?". He grinned as he recognised his sisters voice and her face materialised in the glass.

"Hi Sis".

She smiled happily but then her face fell in disappointment, "me, Ginny and Luna couldn't find anything about a powerful stone" she said "obviously we don't have it here in the library".

Harry held up a hand, "it's alright, no need to worry, we found out what it was from a book on Nicholas Flamel and a chocolate frog card".

Molly looked at him and began laughing, "you're not seriously telling me your biggest clue was a frog card!" she said in disbelief.

Harry nodded, "yeah, we'd searched the whole library and not found anything on the stone, then by chance I read a frog card of Dumbledore and there it was, so we got the book and found out what it is".

Harry's smile was replaced by a scowl, "problem now is, we don't know who'd want to steal it here, so we don't know how to protect it".

* * *

On the first Saturday in October, all thoughts of Flamel, the Stone and the incident involving Uncle Sev and Professor Quirrell flew from Harry's mind.

It was the first Quidditch match of the season. Harry's first game and his first chance to get a lot of points for Gryffindor.

"Come on Harry, eat something" Hermione urged him worriedly.

"Come on mate, you need to keep your strength up" Ron chipped in.

"Just a piece of toast" Draco said, waving some heavily buttered toast under Harry's chin.

Neville added, "you don't want to let the team down, do you?".

This last comment had the desired effect and Harry took a piece of toast and ate it unenthusiastically. The rest of the team arrived at the table and after twenty minutes, Wood said sympathetically "it's time to go Harry".

Harry got up and followed the other from the great hall. They made their way down the sloping lawns to the Quidditch stadium.

They slipped into the changing rooms and got ready. Just as in training, they were forced to endure a long winded speech from their Captain.

By the time it was complete, it was time to head out onto the pitch. The noise level when they stepped out onto the grass, broomsticks under their arms, was immense.

The whole stadium seemed to be packed out. Not a seat was empty. The two team Captains, Oliver Wood for Gryffindor and Marcus Flint, a troll like boy for Slytherin, shook hands, attempting it seemed to break the others hand.

They were soon in the air and the game had begun.

Harry didn't hear much of the action from his position, high above the goal hoops. He was far too busy trying to locate the Golden Snitch and win his team the game.

After what seemed like forever he located the small golden ball and made a move towards it, followed closely by the Slytherin Seeker.

His hand had just closed around it when his broom began to move out of control. It had never acted erratically before and Harry was very worried.

As he fought to regain control of his broom, the snitch vanished and he cursed his bad luck. He'd nearly done it.

As the broom continued to jolt him, he found himself, falling off and hanging on by one arm to it. He felt sick and very scared now.

Memories of the incident years before when he'd plummeted off his broom at Marauder Manor, were flooding back.

"Not again, please not again" he murmured under his breath.

* * *

Down in the stands Draco was the first to notice something. Looking through his binoculars he saw Harry's broom thrashing about madly as if trying to buck him off.

That couldn't be though, thought Draco. Broomsticks didn't suddenly try to throw off their riders. Their had to be dark magic at play.

It wasn't long before everyone else began to notice as Harry's broom moved downwards in a spiral and the boy in question just barely held on.

Neville seized the glasses from Draco and looked around the stadium. His eyes lit on Professors Quirrell and Snape, Quirrell was maintaining eye contact and Professor Snape was muttering something while looking at Harry too.

Neville wasn't sure what was going on. He couldn't tell which one of them was responsible but he was certain it was one of them.

"Guys, look over there" he said as he passed the binoculars to each of them.

"Right, come on!" Hermione said and led the other three through the stands to the stairs. They hurried along a passage until they were below the teachers stand.

"What are we gonna do?" Ron moaned desperately.

"Don't panic, I have a plan" Hermione told him reassuringly.

The bushy haired girl after a moment of indecision, aimed her wand at Quirrells robes and murmured "Hyacinthum Bell Flammae".

Blue flames shot forth from her wand and impacted the Professor's robes. For a moment there was no movement and then they heard of the voice of tiny Professor Flitwick shout in alarm "Quirinus, your robes are on fire!".

They left their position and returned to the Gryffindor stand.

As they took their seats, Hagrid said "he's got control o the broom again, not sure wha tha was all abou".

The four friends exchanged dark looks. If Harry had got control of them broom as soon as Quirrell and Snape had broke eye contact then one of them must have been jinxing the broom.

They didn't say anything however. They were suspicious but had no actual evidence and so could do nothing.

* * *

Harry was amazed and relieved beyond words when his broom began to obey his commands again.

As he zoomed towards the ground, the snitch shot out in front of him.

He was just a few feet from the ground. He reached out a hand and tried to grab it. He lost his balance, lurched forward and the snitch disappeared.

He fell from his broom to the dirt floor and rolled as he'd been taught. His stomach felt very heavy, like he was going to be sick.

He heaved, once, twice, a third time and something golden, with wings, fell into his cupped hands. Feeling nauseous and dizzy, he held the little golden ball aloft.

From somewhere above, he heard the shrill blasts of a whistle, Lee Jordan shouting into a microphone and loud cheering from most of the stadiums audience.

He was soon joined by his team mates, clapping him on the shoulder, hugging him and looking just as elated as he felt. His friends and brother soon joined them and Harry was carried on their shoulders from the pitch, out of the stadium, up the lawns and all the way through the castle, up to Gryffindor tower.

Needless to say, the party that followed their victory went on for a very long time. It went on so long in fact, that Professor McGonagall arrived at last and told them sternly that it was gone two in the morning and was thus time for bed.

The disappointed students filed up to bed, still talking happily of the game.

Harry himself, fell into a sound sleep. All thoughts of the stone gone, for the time being.

* * *

In chapter four we reach October and there will be several encounters and surprises for our five students.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: All characters in this story except Molly, David, Lucy and Janice belong to the awesome JK Rowling

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Hi guys, sorry this chapter took so long, I've been very busy and then I encountered a bad case of writers block. Anyway hope you enjoy.

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Chapter Four: Pranks, Detention, Duel & The Dragon

On the second Saturday in October, the New Marauders went down as a group to visit Hagrid. They wanted to talk to him about the incident with Harry and who he thought might be behind it and why.

So after having breakfast in the great hall as usual, the five of them set off from the castle and down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's cabin which lay on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

When they knocked on the door, they heard Fang's familiar booming bark and their friends gruff voice saying: "get back Fang!, get back you daft dog".

The cabin door opened and they came face to face with the jovial half-giant. He beamed at them all and said: "come in all of ye".

The made their way inside and Harry was immediately tackled by an excited Fang, who licked his face a lot before turning to do the same to the others.

They washed their faces and sat at the large table. Tea was set before them and they helped themselves to milk and sugar.

"Tha was a nice catch las week Harry" Hagrid said, smiling as he heaped sugar into his tea and stirred vigorously.

"Thanks Hagrid" Harry said as he scratched a happy Fang behind the ears.

"Hagrid, we were hoping to get your take on the incident with Harry's broom last week" Draco began.

They had decided as a group beforehand that they needed to do this delicately as Hagrid never tended to believe bad of authority figures.

"Well" Hagrid began, he took a sip of tea and set the cup down on it's saucer "it looked at first like you'd lost control of your broomstick Harry" Hagrid said matter of factly.

When the others began to protest this Hagrid held up a hand "but then I realised that the broomstick must have been tampered with somehow" he finished, stilling their protests.

Now came the tricky bit, "who do you think was responsible?" asked Ron.

Hagrid shrugged his massive shoulders "not sure to be honest, could be anyone, all they had to know was a jinx that could knock someone off a broom" he replied.

"But that's very advanced magic isn't it?" Hermione cut in.

Hagrid nodded, "you'd have to be at least a fifth year to know something like that" Hagrid scratched his beard "point of fact, it's not even something they teach here, there's only one school who'd teach something that malicious, Durmstrang" he told them.

"What's Durmstrang?" asked Hermione. During her friendship with Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and the others, she'd never heard mention of a Durmstrang.

"Durmstrang is another school for witches and wizards" Draco told her.

"It's in the Balkans" Neville added.

"In Bulgaria to be precise" Ron said.

"It's got a reputation for being very dark" Harry said to her seriously "instead of teaching Defence Against The Dark Arts they just teach the Dark Arts".

Hermione was shocked. She had never thought a school of all places would do such a thing.

"They even use the curses on students as punishment for rule breaking and other things" Harry finished grimly.

After talking about Durmstrang for awhile they returned to their original point "so Hagrid, it would have to be someone in at least fifth year who knows Dark Magic" Harry said.

Hagrid nodded.

"We think it was Professor Quirrell" Neville blurted out.

The others looked at him in annoyance. Neville was usually very tactful.

"Professor Quirrell? that's absolute nonsense" Hagrid said shaking his head.

"But Hagrid I've read up on dark curses" Hermione said. As Hagrid continued to shake his head she added "when casting a dark curse non-verbally, you've got to keep eye contact and only two of the Professors weren't blinking".

"We don't think it was Professor Snape because he's always been trustworthy before" Draco added "that's why we're certain it has to be Quirrell".

"I'm telling you, you're wrong!" Hagrid said angrily, "now will you five just drop it!".

The five of them, realising that Hagrid wasn't coming round to the idea, changed the subject. They began to talk about mundane things, class work, homework and Quidditch. They even chatted to Hagrid about football.

It turned out that Hagrid was an avid West Ham fan as he and his father had lived in East London until Hagrid's father had died some time in Hagrids second year. He'd taken Hagrid to watch West Ham play and Hagrid had become an avid supporter, following football as much Quidditch.

Harry happened to flick his eyes over to the range on which Hagrid cooked most of his meals. Sitting in a saucepan he saw something which made his eyes widen in surprise and concern.

"Hagrid", Harry said cutting on a story that Hagrid was telling from his days as a student. Hagrid turned to look at him, seeming annoyed at the interruption "yes?" he said.

Harry pointed over at the saucepan "please tell me that isn't what I think it is in the pan".

The others all glanced over at the range. Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione's faces registered a mix of surprise and concern while Hagrid beamed happily, "it's a dragon's egg" he told them.

There were five individuals groans of dismay. All of them had ready about Dragon breeding and the fact that it was illegal having been outlawed in the 18th century. Consequently, they knew that Hagrid could get in a lot of trouble for possessing it.

"You didn't steal it did you?" asked Draco.

"O course not!" Hagrid replied, sounding offended at the very idea.

"I didn't mean anything by it Hagrid" Draco said apologetically, "it's just..." he threw his arms up "how'd you get it?".

"I won him from a man in the Three Broomsticks" the half-giant told them and began to reminisce about the card game he'd won a few days earlier.

"Hagrid you have to get rid of it!" Hermione said, sounding worried.

"Why?" asked Hagrid innocently.

The five friends sighed as one "because" Hermione continued "it's against the law to hatch and raise Dragons, you'd get in trouble with the Ministry of Magic for even attempting it".

Hagrid just chuckled and waved off her protest.

"But Hagrid!" Ron burst out in exasperation "look around you, your house is made of wood" he said.

"So?" said Hagrid, completely failing to see the problem.

"So" Ron began sounding almost hysterical "Dragons breathe fire and if that Dragon breathes fire in this cabin, you'll lose your house!".

Again Hagrid waved away the concern as unfounded.

"Alright Hagrid, where are you going to keep it?" Neville asked impatiently.

Hagrid shrugged, showing that he clearly hadn't thought about the first thing of raising a Dragon "I'll hatch it here and keep it in the hut till it gets too big, then find a home for it in the forest" Hagrid said eventually.

The other four banged their heads on the table in frustration and Harry took over attempting to reason with him "Hagrid, if a Dragon starts flying over Hogwarts and Hogsmead I'm fairly certain people will notice" he said calmly.

"You have to get rid of it" Hermione said to him.

Hagrid shook his head stubbornly "no, I won't, I'm going to hatch him and keep him.

Finding themselves unable to change their friends mind, they finished their tea, refused the rock cakes and headed back up to the castle.

"We're going to have to do something" Harry said.

"We could get Charlie to take it once it hatches" Ron said.

This was decided to be a very good idea and so they resolved to do nothing until it was hatched and then persuade Hagrid to give the Dragon up.

* * *

23rd October 1991

As Halloween was just over a week away, the New Marauders, who had thus far confined themselves to small pranks, convened a meeting about the Halloween feast.

"Right, since we're all here" began Harry, as Neville and Hermione (who'd just returned from the library) sat down in the groups usual seats in the room of requirement.

"I think we should discuss the Halloween feast and what we're going to do, so far we've only done small pranks, letting off stink bombs and that sort of thing".

"We definitely need to do something special" Ron said.

There were nods of agreement from everyone.

"That's what I thought" said Harry "so the best thing to do would be for us all to put out ideas and vote on them" Harry looked around the group "I want no complaining if someone's idea isn't chosen, we'll pick it another time".

Everyone was happy with this and the five of them scribbled down a detailed idea on separate sheets of parchment.

After half an hour, Harry called a halt "right, what have we got?" he asked as he collected everyone else's ideas and put them in a pile with his own.

It was decided to read them out in alphabetical order and so Draco went first, "I propose a collective smell potion to be put on the Slytherins robes, it would stay on there for 24 hours".

"I assume there's someone you want exempted" Harry said, grinning and winking knowingly.

His brother shot him an exasperated look, "Harry, not in front of everyone!".

"What's this?" said Ron sounding amused. Neville and Hermione were sitting up straighter.

"Not my secret to tell" Harry told them.

Draco sighed and shot them all looks that said "I will get you if you give me grief over this".

Taking a deep breath Draco said: "I'm having these feelings...about...Daphne Greengrass". He looked at his shoes as if they were the most fascinating things he'd ever seen.

"Gree...not...the Slytherin girl?" Neville said. He sounded interested and perhaps a bit amazed.

Draco nodded, not looking up.

"But she's a Slytherin!" Ron burst out in outrage.

At this Draco looked up. He looked scathing and just a touch angry at his friends reaction "I had noticed Ron, unlike you I don't have the emotional capacity of a tea spoon".

"Oi!, take that back!" Ron shouted, standing up.

Draco stood up "make me" he replied, shoving Ron.

Harry shut his eyes. He was used to arguments between his friends but that didn't make it any easier.

Neville and Hermione stood up as well. Neville moved between them, attempting to halt things before it got physical.

Hermione looked over at Harry and saw that he had tears coming down his cheeks. 'No wonder' she thought sadly. He had witnessed his mothers death at the hands of a man who had also tried to kill him almost exactly ten years earlier.

She knew that he hated it when his friends or family argued, even over the simplest things.

She walked over to Harry and knelt down next to him. Hermione grasped his hands in concern. Behind her, Draco and Ron separated by Neville, were still arguing.

Hermione turned a furious glare in their direction "shut up you selfish prats!" she said.

The two of them looked at her and saw her holding Harry's hands and saw Harry crying. Their anger defused in an instant and Draco's emotional link to Harry was dialled up to a hundred.

"Oh god Harry" he said. He ran over to his brother and hugged him. Ron and Neville also came over and enveloped him in a hug.

Ron and Draco apologised, first to Harry and then to each other. Harmony was restored and the rest of the prank idea were read out.

In the end a double prank was decided upon as they went with Draco's collective smell prank and an idea by Ron to make their favourite trio of Nott, Crabbe and Goyle, burp whenever they tried to speak for twenty-four hours.

In a bow to Draco's confused feelings about Daphne Greengrass, she wasn't included in the prank.

* * *

In the courtyard on a blustery day, during lunch, three days before Halloween, Harry and the other New Marauders were walking and talking when they found themselves in front of there three least favourite people at Hogwarts.

Theodore Nott, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle blocked their way.

"Get out of the way Nott, we need to get by" said Ron.

"Shut up Weasley you blood traitor" Nott spat out venomously.

"Don't you speak to him like that!" Hermione shouted, getting up in Nott's face.

"Get away from me you filthy Mudblood" he said disdainfully.

This time, after so many times of being calm and collected Harry lost it. He looked Nott square in the eyes "that's it Nott, I'm sick of your bigoted views and your superiority complex".

His face was reddening "you don't speak to my friends like that...ever!" he said hotly.

Oh yeah and what are you going to do about it, Potter" Nott replied to him with a smirk.

"Harry he's not worth it, lets go" urged Hermione as she placed a hand on his arm. He shrugged her off gently but firmly.

"I'll tell you what I'm going to do about it" Harry said coldly.

Draco's stomach lurched as he felt through his link what his brother was about to propose, "Harry no!" he said in alarm.

Harry ignored him, "we'll settle this the old fashioned way, I propose...a wizards duel" he said to Nott.

"Sounds good, when and where?" asked Nott still smirking.

"Trophy room at midnight tonight, you bring two people as seconds and I'll do the same" Harry said.

Nott nodded and stepped aside to allow them to pass.

"You shouldn't have done that Harry, he'll never keep his word" Draco said.

Harry said nothing to this.

"Draco's right Harry" said Hermione "you could get expelled".

Harry turned to face them all, "I'm not stupid Hermione".

"Oh really, you're doing a good job of it" she said to him.

Harry sighed, "look Mione, I have to take him down a peg or two, he's always strutting around like he owns the place and ruining things for us, I'm sick of it".

"We're getting him back by pranking" Neville pointed out.

"Harry's right" Ron said leaping to Harry's side "Nott needs to be taught a lesson and Harry beating him in a duel would be perfect".

The argument about it lasted all the way through lunch and into History of Magic.

* * *

That night as the clock struck 11:50 pm, the last of the stragglers headed up the stairs from the Gryffindor common room to their dormitories. Harry opened the portrait hole, said goodbye to Hermione and Neville and stepped out with Draco and Ron who were acting as seconds.

Hidden under the invisibility cloak, they just about managed to reach the trophy room by the stroke of twelve.

"He should be here" Harry said in annoyance as five minutes elapsed and Nott still hadn't appeared.

"I don't like this Harry, I have a bad feeling" Draco said, looking around at the display cases.

"He's probably just late" Ron said without much concern.

Another five minutes went by and footsteps could be heard in the corridor outside "see, he's here" Ron whispered confidently.

That confidence was to shattered in seconds as a distinctly familiar and unwelcome voice sounded out and the door began to open "our informant said they'd be in here my pretty" came the gravelly and hard voice of Argus Filch, the caretaker.

"Run!" Harry said. He threw the cloak over them and as the door opened fully and Filch began to shine his lamp around the room, the trio opened a door at the opposite end and ran for it.

They had no idea how long they'd been running for but they soon found themselves in front of a room with a very dusty and cobweb strewn door handle.

"In here" Harry whispered. They pushed at the door and were surprised to find it wasn't locked. They crept inside and closed the door, breathing heavily.

They pulled the cloak off and Harry stashed it in his pocket. He was feeling very stupid for not having either taken the Marauders map or realised that Nott being too clever would never really face him in a duel.

"Hey Harry, Ron" came Draco's voice. Harry's head snapped over to Draco who was approaching a tall, rounded object. From where Harry stood, it looked like a mirror with a gold frame.

He and Ron walked over to where Draco was standing.

Draco was staring transfixed at the mirror. Harry couldn't understand why. Surely all Draco was seeing was himself.

"So pretty" Draco was repeating over and over again as his hand touched the surface of the mirror.

Harry went and stood beside his brother and gasped.

"You see her too" Draco said as he continued to gaze at the image.

"She's beautiful, she's got long red hair just like Mum, it must be my birth Mum" Harry said.

"What are you talking about?" Draco said in irritation "she's got blonde hair not red".

Ron joined them and gasped as well.

"What do you see?" the two of them asked him.

"It's incredible" Ron responded, "I'm Head Boy and Quidditch Captain, I'm holding the Quidditch Cup and shaking hands with Dumbledore".

Ron turned to face them both, "do you guys think this show's the future?".

"How can it Ron, both me and Draco recognise the women in the mirror, one of them is my birth mum and the other is Draco's, they're both dead".

Ron's face fell.

An idea came into Draco's mind, "maybe this mirror shows what we want to see" he said.

"What?" Ron said in confusion.

"What I mean is that neither Me or Harry knew our birth mums for long given they both died when we still little and you Ron, you've got so many siblings that the thing you want most is to stand out".

Ron and Harry nodded at this explanation "makes total sense, I mean, I love Mum with all my heart but I still miss my birth Mum so much, all the more so for not really knowing her".

The three of them ended up going there the next night as well and stared deep into the mirror. They were interrupted by a soft voice. The voice of Headmaster Dumbledore. "I see you three like many before you have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised" he said.

The three of them stood up and turned around all feeling worried. It felt like like eels were wriggling about in their stomachs.

"There is no need to be worried boys" Dumbledore told them with a wry smile.

"I daresay I did much worse as a student than being out late at night" he said with a chuckle.

Their fears eased, "Professor, what is it...the mirror I mean" Harry said as he gazed at it.

"That my boy, is the Mirror of Erised, whoever looks into it will see what he desires" Dumbledore replied.

"So...it show what we want then Sir" Draco said.

"Yes...and...no" the Headmaster replied, "it shows only the deepest desires our hearts" he told them.

They trio gave him quizzical looks and Dumbledore clarified "you two" he said as he gestured to Harry and Draco "love your mothers very much, but you still desire to get to know your birth mothers".

He turned his bright blue eyes on Ron "you Mr Weasley, live in the shadow of five older brothers, their accomplishments and popularity and you wish to stand out".

The trio gaped at the old wizard in shock. "How..." began Harry.

"How do I do?" Dumbledore supplied for him.

They all nodded, Dumbledore chuckled again "you three boys are easier to read than you'd like to believe".

Dumbledore approached the mirror and stared into it intently for several seconds before sighing and turning to face the boys.

"This mirror is being moved to a new home tomorrow boys and I must ask you not to go looking for it again" Dumbledore said sternly.

"But why Professor, it's harmless" Ron said.

Dumbledore shook his head, "no Mr Weasley it is not, you see..." he ran a hand over the glass of the mirror "men have wasted away in front of it, it offers no truth, no wisdom and no solutions, I must therefore repeat what I have said and ask you to not look for it again" he said.

Reluctantly the three boys nodded and gave their assurances.

A thought popped into Harry's head and he voiced it before he could stop himself "Professor, what do you see when you look into the mirror?".

Dumbledore smiled at this question, "I Harry?, I see myself holding a pair of thick woollen socks".

"Socks?" Draco blurted out in surprise.

"Oh yes, you see as you get older you can never get enough socks", Dumbledore spread his hands out "I however only ever receive books, it seems that people forget I have not only a personal library stocked to overflowing with books but also the Hogwarts library".

He then pushed them out of the room and told them to head to their common room.

When they had gone, Dumbledore walked over to the mirror and stared deep into it's depth's at the image of the beautiful young woman who stood before him smiling.

Tears began to fall from his eyes and into his long white beard. "Oh Ariana, Ariana, I'm so sorry" murmured the Headmaster who felt the hidden emotions of ages about to overwhelm him.

He pulled himself back together and exited the room.

* * *

The next few days went by in a rush of classes and Harry and the others completely forgot about the Mirror of Erised. Their pranks was nearly ready. On the morning of 31st, four of them (Ron stayed behind this time) exited the common room before anyone else had risen. They made their way down to the great hall.

As they arrived, Harry whipped out the cloak and threw it over them making sure to check that it completely covered them.

The four New Marauders, each of them carrying a vial of the foul smelling potion cooked up by Draco and Hermione, found the entrance to the Slytherin common room. They knew where it was because they'd overheard the idiot Crabbe and Goyle talking about it a week ago.

They however had not know the password, until that is, Daphne Greengrass (who couldn't stand the others in her house save for Blaise Zabini who she'd told them wasn't obessed with blood purity) told them the password to get in after Draco assured her she wouldn't be pranked.

After uttering the frankly revolting password of Blood Pure, the door to the common room swung open and they stepped in.

They were all nervous about this plan as they had never gone to a house common room and done this before. It had been decided that as there was only four of them to actually pull the prank off, they would go into each dormitory together.

They decided to start with the first years and work their way along. Luckily, all of the dormitories were on the same level. This ensured easy access.

Pulling the door open to the Seventh Year dorms they found it surprisingly simple to sneak inside, administer a drop of potion to the students robes and mutter their incantations.

They repeated the process at each boys and girls dorm until they reached the first years. They took great pleasure in pouring potion onto the robes of Milicent Bullstrode and Pansy Parkinson. Both of whom were known to hang around with Nott and his goons on occasion.

Finally, they reached the First Year boys dorm and opened the creaky door as quietly as possible. They stepped inside and set to work.

Out of the four boys in the dorm they were administering the potion on three, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle. After silently mouthing the incantation for hiccups the four of them slipped the cloak back on and began to leave.

Just as they opened the door, they heard the snoring from the nearest bed cease. When they turned to look they found Crabbe staring towards the door.

They needn't have worried. Crabbe was so dense that he got up, walked past them and headed off into the common room.

They decided to leave the door and head after him. To their relief he headed off towards the toilets leaving them free to slip through the doorway and out into the corridor.

They ran flat out back to Gryffindor tower.

Hermione was very relieved when they returned safe and sound, reporting that the prank went off without a hitch.

* * *

Things were very interesting to say the least throughout the morning. Some Slytherins were absent from class, while others found that no one from the other houses wanted to set next to them.

The funniest thing of course was that the Slytherins couldn't smell anything and were confused as to why everyone was reacting as if they had Plague.

When lunchtime arrived, the spell that brought on persistent hiccuping took effect.

Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione were sat eating their lunch and quietly grinning, when the chatter from the Slytherin table ceased.

Suddenly, Nott opened his mouth to speak and began to hiccup violently, Crabbe went next, then Goyle, as the spell took effect along the entire length of the table, everyone save for a few students began hiccuping incessantly.

When Harry's eyes flashed over to the staff table he saw Professor McGonagall, Hagrid and some of the others trying not to laugh. Hagrid lost the battle and began laughing heartily.

Professor Snape also seemed to be holding laughter in. He however was hidden behind his goblet from which he was drinking.

Before anyone knew it the bewildered Slytherins rushed from the great hall en masse, leaving only a few of them behind. Professor Snape wiped his mouth, excused himself from the table and rushed off after them.

He paused briefly next to Harry and mouthed "good prank Harry" before moving off.

Harry was confused. He'd pranked Uncle Sev's house, surely he'd get in trouble for it if he knew.

* * *

That night, the New Marauders arrived in the great hall after dropping off their school bags. They had all been told how amazing the Halloween feast was and were keen to get there early to enjoy it.

From the moment they entered the great hall their breath was taken away. On the tables stood several large, pumpkins with ghastly faces carved into them. Flicking his eyes to the ceiling, Harry saw that there varying decorations from ghosts to vampires and flying about in every direction were hundreds of bats.

'Hall certainly seems set for Halloween' Harry thought.

He had just been about to sit down when something reminded him of what had happened ten years ago that night. Unbidden, a memory flashed into his mind of the house he and his parents had lived in in Godric's Hollow.

He saw Voldemort laughing coldly as he aimed his wand at his Mother and fired "Avada Kedavra". His Mother slumped down dead on the floor next Harry's crib.

Harry watched as his infant self cried and cried for his Mum. He watched as Voldemort turned the wand on him.

"I need the toilet" he lied as he stood up. The other New Marauders looked at him in concern.

"Me too" Draco announced. Harry gave him a look that said: "I'd rather be on my own" but Draco returned it with a look that said: "you need someone with you and I'm not leaving".

The two of them left the great hall. The other New Marauders thought nothing of it and after listening to a short speak by Headmaster Dumbledore, they tucked into the delicious feast provided.

Just as things had moved onto dessert, the doors to the great hall burst open with a loud booming sound which caused everyone to stare towards them in interest.

Running between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables was Professor Quirrell the Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher. Ron watched in bemusement as the jittery not very brave Professor halted halfway along and shouted "troll!, troll in the dungeons!, thought you ought to know".

He then promptly passed out. There was pandemonium in the hall as students began to scramble to their feet. Some were screaming, others shouting, others talking to their friends or year mates.

Some students began to run for the doors. Professor Dumbledore stood up, tapped his wand, muttered "sonorous" and shouted as loudly as he could over the noise "silence!".

The great hall immediately became quiet as everyone looked at him.

"Prefects, please lead the other students back to your respective common rooms, the teachers and I shall begin our search for the troll".

There was an orderly but still tense queue to leave the great hall and head for safety.

Ron pulled Hermione and Neville aside "we've got to get to Harry and Draco" he said, as he took charge of the situation.

"Why? they aren't near the dungeons are they?" Neville asked him.

Ron nodded "yeah Nev, they are, on the map it says the only bathrooms near here are in the dungeons".

It was decided by three of them and as their section of queue reached the doors to the hall, they slipped out, down the corridor and made for the dungeons.

* * *

Severus waited for everyone to leave the great hall. He was hidden in a corner watching, waiting, he'd had orders from Dumbledore not to antagonise Quirrell as they still couldn't be sure he was the one after the stone.

Severus was not going to sit back though and let it be stolen.

After five minutes, Quirrell sat up, looked around and a cruel smile formed on his thin pale face. He sloped off through a side door and Severus knew instantly where he was heading.

He followed the other Professor at a distance. Soon he found himself facing the door to the third floor corridor. He watched as Quirrell opened it and went in. creeping along behind, Severus saw the other Professor reach the door to the room where Fluffy was being kept.

"Alohamora" muttered Quirrell and the door clicked open and Quirrell stepped inside. Severus wasted no more time. He broke into a run and reached the door before it closed.

"Stop right there Quirinus" he said calmly as he aimed his wand at the mans back.

"S...S...Severus" the man stuttered "I w...w...was j..j...just c..checking t...the s...stone m..make s..sure i..it w..was s..safe".

"I'm sure you were Quirinus, I'm sure you were, well it's safe so you can leave".

"O...of c...course" Quirrell said nervously. Severus watched as the man left the room. Before Severus could exit as well, he heard a loud snarling sound. The snapping of teeth. He whipped around and found the three headed dog looking at him.

The dogs mouth was slobbering and he looked menacing. Severus tried to back away but he didn't do it fast enough and the dog swiped with several very large very sharp claws, slicing the leg part of his robes to ribbons and leaving a deep cut along his right leg.

Severus hobbled out of the room, slammed the door behind it and locked it.

As he exited the corridor he muttered several words not found in polite conversation.

* * *

Harry cried a lot as Draco hugged him. Amongst others he rarely cried, but when he was alone or with his brother he felt that it was ok. He knew that Draco wouldn't judge him for crying.

"I just miss her so much sometimes, especially this time of year" Harry said sadly "I love Mum but I can't help feeling that my other Mum deserved to live, she deserved to see me grow up, to have so much longer with Dad you know".

"I get you" replied Draco "we've both suffered you and me, a lot, I tell you one thing though, crying may seem girly but it's better to cry than hold all those feelings in".

Harry laughed a little "when did you get so wise".

Draco grinned, "lets just say it came from my Mum not from Dad".

They were laughing and chatting so much that it was a few moments before they noticed the ground shaking, "what the hell?" murmured Draco.

Harry looked out into the hallway and shouted in alarm.

"What? what it it?" Draco asked, sounding very nervous now.

He soon found out just what it was that had so alarmed his brother, as a wide, tall, ugly looking troll smashed through the doorway of the bathroom. His club was raised and he sounded very angry.

"Why does this always happen to us!" Harry shouted in frustration.

"Watch out!" shouted Draco. The two of them ducked away as the giant swung his club down. The tops of several toilet cubicles were destroyed in a hail of splinters.

"What are we going to do?" Draco said in concern as they hunkered down.

Just then they heard a very welcome voice "Harry, Draco!". They flicked their eyes over to the ruins of the doorway and saw, standing there, wands out and ready, Ron, Neville and Hermione.

They looked worried but ready to fight. The troll raised it's club again, preparing to bring it down. Harry and Draco shut their eyes.

They heard a loud thunk and when they opened their eyes again, they saw the troll, looking even angrier aiming at Ron who had clearly tried to throw a piece of stone to gain the creatures attention.

The troll swung it's club nearly hitting Hermione. She ducked away and the troll took out a row of sinks. Hermione held her hands above her head as porcelain and bits of glass rained down around her.

"Now!, Wingardium Leviosa!" Neville shouted.

Harry and Draco leapt to their feet and joined Ron and Neville in aiming their wands at the troll. "Wingardium Leviosa" they said together.

The club lifted out of the confused trolls grasp and when the spell was released fell with a loud "crack" onto his head. The troll shook his head for a second, made to move, stumbled a few steps and began to fall. Ron and Neville just managed to roll out of the way before the troll crashed with a loud boom on the bathroom floor.

Draco helped Hermione up and the five of them, circled the troll in wonder and shock. "Is it dead?" Ron asked.

Harry leaned in close, "no, just knocked out" he said.

Just then, several teachers burst into the bathroom led by Professor McGonagall. "What are..." she began. When she saw the troll "oh my goodness!" she exclaimed.

Professors Flitwick and Sprout entered the room after her and began examining the troll out of curiosity.

Severus just had time to ask "how are you all?" before a furious Professor McGonagall was standing in front of the group. They had never seen her so angry before.

"Of all the stupid! irresponsible! bird brained ideas" she began "trying to deal with a troll by yourselves!, you could have been killed!, you could have been seriously hurt!".

"But we weren't Professor" protested Draco.

"That, Mr Black is beside the point" she said.

Draco looked at his shoes.

"Five points each shall be taken from Gryffindor for this wilful disregard of the rules" she said.

"Please Professor, it was my fault" Harry said.

Professor McGonagall looked at him.

"I've read about Mountain Trolls and thought I could take him down". This was a complete lie and could earn him a detention but Harry wasn't about to tell her or anyone else that the reason he'd been in the bathroom was that he'd actually been crying.

"I see, Mr Potter I am very disappointed in you" the Professor said severely.

Harry averted his eyes, "however" she said, Harry snapped his eyes up "not many First Year students could take on a fully grown Mountain Troll and live to tell the tale, therefore I am awarding each of you ten points for bravery and sheer dumb luck, now come on, if you are all alright you should head back to your common room".

The five of them feeling exhilarated and happy but also confused, walked back to Gryffindor tower discussing the event animatedly.

In Harry's opinion it had certainly been a night to remember.

He was just worried about the reaction of his parents to that nights events.

They were not going to be happy.

* * *

Well everyone, that's October done with, next time trouble with dragons, more Quidditch and detention.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I only own Lucy, Janice, David & Molly who I created. The rest I am borrowing from the amazing JR Rowling who is the sole owner of the Potter universe.

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Hi guys and girls here is another chapter for you. And just a friendly reminder that reviews are much appreciated and help let me know how I'm doing.

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Chapter Five: Angry Parents, Norbert, Detention & The Creature in the Forest

When the rest of Gryffindor House had heard of the New Marauders battle with a Troll, they were the toast of Gryffindor tower.

Their euphoria was however to prove short lived. They had just settled down to breakfast in the great hall when they heard the rustling of wings and screeching of owls that told them the post was arriving.

The five of them let out near identical groans. Harry, Draco and Ron especially were looking up nervously at the ceiling. They had not long to wait as they spotted five familiar owls descending towards the Gryffindor table.

There was Merlin Harry's parents owl, Archimedes Draco's parents owl, the ancient Weasley family owl Errol who announced his present by crash landing in Ron's porridge bowl, Neville's parents owl Galahad and the Granger family owl Harold.

Tremulously, the four boys took the letters from the talons of the first four owls and noted with dismay that the letters were indeed howlers.

Hermione's owl gave her a regular letter. She however looked no happier about this than the others were. Her parents were very protective and she knew she'd have to write back and convince them not to pull her out of Hogwarts.

By wordless mutual agreement, the five of them picked up their school books and hurried from the great hall and out into the grounds.

They headed down to the edge of the Forbidden Forest where howlers would not disturb anyone save for Hagrid.

As they reached the area near the trees, they tore open the envelopes. Hermione read her letter looking increasingly nervous as she read.

When she'd finished she became aware of four angry female voices that sounded similar to each other shouting over themselves.

"Harry James Potter!" came the irate voice of Harry's mother. Harry grimaced as the voice continued "have you lost your mind? you could have been killed! you had better behave yourself for the rest of the year or you will be grounded!".

His letter promptly tore itself up and blew away in the harsh autumn breeze.

The others letters all said virtually the same with a few variations.

* * *

On the second weekend of November as the five of them were eating lunch in the great hall, an owl arrived with a message for them.

Hermione gave the brown owl some water and a bit of bacon. The owl hooted gratefully and left as Harry tore open the envelope with interest and began reading: "it's from Hagrid" he said as he looked at the others.

Harry read further and groaned "he says the Dragon has hatched and would we like to see it".

"He isn't still keeping it is he?" Neville asked in concern.

Harry read the rest of the letter "he doesn't say he's not" he said as he set the note down.

There were collective groans from the others. They had attempted several times to persuade Hagrid not to keep the Dragons egg and each time he had shrugged them off.

They had one more sandwich each and hurried off out of the great hall, across the entrance hall and through the front doors out into the grounds.

Upon reaching the two floor cabin, they knocked loudly and stood back by the front step. In answer to their knock there was a booming bark and a loud voice which said: "get back Fang, you silly creature, get back so I can let em in".

The door was pulled open and Hagrid, beaming happily gazed round at them "come in, come in ye five" he said jovially.

They followed him inside one by one, Hermione being last, shut the door.

As they sat down they saw what they had been dreading to see. On the table sat a small Dragon that looked, Harry thought, like a crumpled black umbrella. It had large spiny wings, a skinny body and a long snout wide very wide nostrils, horn stubs on it's head and bulging orange eyes that looked at the newcomers inquiringly for a moment before turning it's attention back to Hagrid.

Hagrid sat down in front of it and it squawked loudly. "Aint he beautiful" Hagrid said happily as he tickled the Dragon under it's chin.

Harry and the others looked at him as if he was mad. They cared deeply about Hagrid but had never understood his fascination with dangerous creatures. He just didn't seem to realise that animals such as Dragons were not meant to be kept as pets and certainly not anywhere near a school.

The Dragon coughed slightly, accidentally sneezed and set fire to Hagrids beard "oh, oh dear" Hagrid murmured, putting the beard out with a nearby tea towel.

The Dragon allowed Hagrid to stroke it's head and even made contented noises as it did so "bless him, he knows his Mummy" Hagrid said blissfully "I called him Norbert" their large friend informed them.

Harry looked round at the others. Hermione and Draco were wide eyed and Neville was whistling. Ron looked about to be sick.

Harry realised that enough was enough. It didn't matter how cute Hagrid thought Norbert was, the face remained that not only was he going to be dangerous to both other people and Hagrid but he would also grow to a very large size.

Harry knew this to be the case as he had been given a book on Dragons as a present by Charlie Weasley who worked with them at a Sanctuary in Romania.

Harry cleared his throat and was about to speak when Draco spared him "Hagrid you have to see reason, you can't keep Norbert".

"Not ere no" Hagrid conceded.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief which would prove to be premature given Hagrids next words "that's why when e's big nough I'm takin im to live in the Forest".

Ron began to bang his head on the table in frustration. Neville began pulling at his hair and Draco shook his head in disbelief.

Hagrid was far too stubborn for his own good most of the time.

"Hagrid, Norbert may be cute but when he gets bigger he'll be a danger to you, your home and the school, that's without mentioning the people of Hogsmeade" Harry said in exasperation.

"Norbert wouldn' urt a fly" Hagrid protested indignantly.

"He wouldn't mean to but it's built in Hagrid" Neville said cutting.

"Hagrid please be sensible, you can't keep him anywhere near humans, it's too dangerous for you and for him, you must see that" Hermione said softly and pleadingly.

Hagrid sighed "I guess your right Hermione, but where can I take im?" he said despairingly.

"My brother Charlie would take him no problem" Ron put in.

"Would he?" asked Hagrid hopefully.

Ron nodded and smiled "yeah, he works with Dragons in Romania, helps keep them safe" he told the half-giant.

"There you are then Hagrid" said Draco "all we have to do is get Charlie to take him and then he'll be safe and so will everyone else".

Hagrid smiled at this thought but then his face fell "but...but what if he don't like it there" he lamented "what if the other Dragons are mean to im, what if they pick on in".

The others shook their heads and rolled their eyes. Hagrid besides seeing all dangerous creatures as cuddly also seemed to think they couldn't protect themselves.

"He'll be fine Hagrid and we'll get Charlie to give you loads of updates on him" Ron assured him.

Finally Hagrid, tears rolling down his cheeks, nodded in agreement to the idea.

Looking up towards the window Hagrid gasped.

"What's the matter Hagrid?" Hermione asked him in concern.

Hagrid pointed to the window "who's that?" he said, sounding worried.

Harry ran over to the door and opened it, just in time to see Theodore Nott running full pelt back up the sloping lawns to the castle.

Harry returned to the table and sat down heavily "it's bad news Hagrid, that's what" he said as he took off his glasses and wiped them clean.

"Why? who was it?" the other Ron, Draco, Neville and Hermione chorused.

"It was Nott", Harry told them.

"Oh no, he's bound to tell someone and get Hagrid into trouble" Neville exclaimed.

"Just let him try, I've been itching to deal with him" Ron muttered darkly.

"Let's just be sensible about this" Hermione said to the others, "we need to contact Charlie immediately, see if he can take Norbert and if he can then we need to make a plan with him of where to hand over Norbert and when".

"Hermione's right guys" Harry added, flashing his best friend a smile "we just need to be calm and collected, no one will believe some crackpot story about Hagrid having a Dragon, they're really rare in this country".

The others nodded and Hagrid laughed a little before his face turned serious again "you five shouldn't be involved in this, you could get in ta trouble" he said in concern.

Hermione laid a hand on their friends arm and said: "Hagrid you are our friend, you didn't ask us to help, we're helping because you are our friend".

"Yeah Hagrid, we aren't going to let you get in trouble over this" Harry told him.

Neville, Draco and Ron all voiced their agreement to this causing Hagrid to cry.

"You are all such great friends" he sobbed "thank you".

That night when they were in the First Years boys dorm alone (Dean and Seamus were at dinner) they wrote out a letter to Charlie. Harry had earlier got Hegwig from the owlery.

They tied the note to Hegwigs leg and Harry stroked her snowy feathers, "have a safe journey girl and remember get it there as soon as you can" Harry told the owl urgently.

Ron opened the window, Hegwig nipped Harry's finger affectionately and soared out through the open window and into the darkened sky.

"How long do you think she'll be?" asked Hermione.

Harry, turning to face her, shrugged "could be days or weeks, I'm not sure how far away Romania is, but she'll find him, she's never failed yet".

* * *

It was a week later when Hedwig finally returned to Hogwarts. Harry and the other New Marauders were were working on a potions essay in the common room when Hermione heard a "tap tap tap" sound.

She looked over to one of the windows and saw a Snowy Owl stood on the window ledge shuffling about due to the cold.

She Draco who also looked and saw the owl. "Harry Hedwigs back" Draco informed his brother.

Harry, a piece of parchment in his hand, glanced towards the window and smiled widely. He had missed her that last week.

Neville hurried over to the window and opened it. Hedwig soared in and landed on the table around which the five of them were gathered.

Ron offered her a goblet of water from which she drank deeply and hooted in gratitude.

"She looks worn out" commented Hermione as she stroked the owls feathers softly.

"She'll have been going flat out" Harry said "she does that when the message is really important".

"Well done girl" he said as he stroked Hedwigs feathers too. Hedwig hooted, obviously glad to be back.

"She's got a letter in her beak" Neville remarked as he pulled the envelope out and handed it to Harry who immediately tore it open and began to read, his face broke into a wide grin and as he finished reading he looked up at the other who were watching him expectantly "he says he'd be happy to take Norbert and can we get him to the top of the Astronomy Tower in two days time".

Ron looked thrilled by this news as did Neville, Draco looked thoughtful and Hermione seemed worried.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked her, unable to see what the issue was.

"The only time we'll be able to take Norbert to the Astronomy Tower is after midnight to avoid students and teachers" she said.

"So?" Ron asked not seeing the issue.

Hermione huffed in annoyance "so Ronald, there is a good chance we could be caught by Filch or someone else and end up in detention".

"She's not wrong you know" Draco added "it's not only being out at night that's an issue, we all know the penalties for having a Dragon, we could get in very hot water with the Ministry of Magic for this".

"So you're saying you won't help!" Harry said hotly.

"We're not saying that at all bro, don't be stupid" Draco said calmly.

"We just feel that it's going to take a lot of planning to avoid major problems" Hermione finished off.

Harry sighed, "sorry I lashed out, you're both right of course it's just...I don't want to let Hagrid down" he said quietly.

"We won't Harry" Neville assured him.

"Yeah Harry, we'll find a way to get Norbert to my brother" Ron chipped in.

Harry smiled, he had the best friends and brother that anyone could wish for.

* * *

It took the New Marauders the remaining two days but eventually they had the answer to what to do, as only three people could fit under the cloak three strongest were chosen, Harry, Draco and Ron, Neville and Hermione were to be look outs for them.

They had to meet Charlie and his friends at midnight and so the five of them pretending to do homework, waited for the common room to clear out before setting off, Hermione would be stationed near the tower and Neville halfway to the astronomy tower.

Neville was entrusted with the map and both were given two way mirrors to communicate.

At 11:50 pm the three who were to do the fetching and carrying headed out through the portrait hole and carefully made their way down the stairs and into the entrance hall.

They made their silent way out into the grounds and then ran as hard as they could to Hagrids cabin on the edge of the grounds.

"Hagrid it's us" Harry said loudly. Hagrid pulled the door open, "Oh thank god ye got ere without any trouble, I'd never forgive meself if ye got in trouble for this".

They went back up to the castle with Hagrid who carried the crate all the way there before setting it down and wishing a tearful farewell to Norbert.

"I gave him a teddy so's he won't be lonely" Hagrid told the three baffled students.

They said goodbye to Hagrid and balancing the crate carefully, they made their way up the steps, inside and moved as swiftly as one can move when carrying a Dragon, through the halls of Hogwarts to the Astronomy tower which was thankfully not that far away.

They had a brief scare just as they reached the the steps leading up to the tower as Neville's two way mirror burst into life.

Harry took his mirror from his cloak pocket and asked "what's happening Nev?".

Neville's pudgy face appeared in the mirror "it's Filch and Mrs Norris, I've just seen them on the map Harry, they're coming straight towards you!".

There was a chorus of swearing from both Ron and Draco that would have caused their mothers to ground them for a week "thanks for the heads up Nev, good work" Harry said.

The mirror went blank and Harry returned it to his pocket. The three of them knew that they could waste any more time and so they shouldered their heavy burden and climbed the stairs as fast as they could.

Luckily they knew and had cast a spell to prevent the crate making noise and to prevent breakage in the event that they dropped it.

Just as they began ascending the stairs, Filch and his very ugly cat Mrs Norris, rounded the corner, Filch began to shine his torch in a sweeping motion in the area of the stairs trying to locate any trouble makers.

"Is there anything there my sweet?" Filch asked his cat. She immediately began sniffing around to locate any scents or smells.

As the three of them were under the cloak and the crate was disillusioned, they hoped she would find nothing.

They breathed a sigh of relief as, indeed, Mrs Norris was unable to pick up any smell and returned to her master. She slunk off at Filch's side.

Only when the two of them had disappeared, did the trio continue the climb to the top of the Astronomy tower for their rendezvous.

When they finally made it up onto the windswept platform at the top of the tower they were relieved to find Charlie Weasley and his three friends/colleagues still waiting for them on brooms.

Harry pulled off the cloak.

"Hey guys, what took so long, another minute and we'd of had to leave" Charlie remarked.

Ron let out a humourless burst of laughter "Filch is what happened Charlie, him and that stupid cat nearly caught us".

"No one saw you did they?" Charlie asked anxiously.

They trio shook their heads and Charlie looked relieved.

Charlie introduced his friends, the four of them took the crate and Charlie said "see you at Christmas!". After one last wave Charlie and his friends banked steeply away from Hogwarts and the tower and vanished from sight.

The trio, feeling exhausted but also happy, made their way down the tower steps to the corridor.

"I hope the rest of term will be quieter than this Draco remarked slightly breathlessly.

Harry and Ron, too tired to speak simply nodded agreement.

They met up with Neville after five more minutes and congratulated him on spotting Filch and Norris to which praise Neville grinned widely.

The four of them had nearly made it back to Gryffindor tower when a loud, angry voice said: "what do you think you are doing!".

They froze, not in terror of being harmed but in fear that the voice belonged to their Head of House Professor McGonagall.

Harry closed in eyes in dread as he realised how stupid they'd been, he felt his pocket and realised that the cloak was hidden within.

Being so tired after lugging the crate up the steps, they had forgotten to put the invisibility cloak back on after leaving the tower.

Draco felt not only despair but anger, the Professor would not randomly be walking about this time of night which meant that someone had seen them and reported them.

The answer as to what sort of student would do such a thing became immediately obvious as a very smug looking Nott with a wide Cheshire Cat like grin on his face stepped away from McGonagalls side.

"I have near in all my years as a teacher had to deal with such a thing!" the Professor shrieked.

"How many times do you have to be told not to go wandering the castle after lights out?".

The Professor looked at them all sternly and said "detention with Hagrid for you four I think" they gaped at her as if thinking it was a joke, a detention with Hagrid would be no punishment.

"In the Forbidden Forest" she finished.

"But Professor, students aren't allowed" began Draco.

"That's enough Mr Black, the punishment will be as I have said, you will be taken tomorrow night at nine by Mr Filch to Hagrids cabin at the edge of the forest and you will accompany him on a job he is doing".

McGonagall turned to face the smug Nott who clearly seemed to think he'd be getting some sort of reward for informing her.

"Detention as well Mr Nott" she said coolly.

Nott's smirk evaporated as he stared at the Professor in dismay and then fury "but I told you what they were up to!" he protested "If I hadn't told you they'd have got away with it!".

McGonagall held up a hand to silence him "that's as may be Mr Nott, but nothing, I repeat, nothing gives you" she gestured to him "or these four" she gestured to Harry and the others "the right to be wandering the corridors at night, you will therefore join Mr Potter, Mr Black, Mr Longbottom and Mr Weasley for detention tomorrow night" she put her hands on he hips and stared sternly at Nott "is that understood Mr Nott?".

Nott, looking surly nodded his head but then muttered "my father will hear about this".

"Oh I'm quite sure he will Mr Nott, because I shall see to it that your Head of House informs him of the detention and why you have received it".

She then shooed the five of them off to bed and sighed in frustration. The five of them were so talented as individuals but seemed to cause trouble far too often.

* * *

The following day seemed to pass in a blur for Harry. One minute he was in History of Magic his first class and the next it was lunch and finally he found himself eating dinner. A dinner that he wasn't particularly enjoying. 'Hardly surprising', he thought as his mind went over the fact of the boys detention later on that night.

At seven pm the five of them finished their dinner, grabbed their school bags and headed up to Gryffindor tower.

Once in the common room they set their bags down and began working on homework, or rather, trying to work on homework.

Harry was not surprised that Neville, Ron and Draco were as distracted as he was. It wasn't that they didn't like Hagrid. He was a good guy.

The issue was having to go into the Forbidden Forest. He knew that students weren't allowed in there and so could not understand why his Head of House should assign the detention to be there.

All too soon it came time to head down to the entrance hall. At 8:50 the boys dumped their bags upstairs and left the tower saying goodnight to Hermione as they weren't sure how long they'd be gone.

She assured them she'd wait up for them.

In the entrance hall they were met by the particularly sour and malicious Argus Filch the Hogwarts Caretaker and the angry looking Nott. Needless to say he was not happy that they'd been right under his nose and he'd missed them. He was thus taking the chance to rub in about their going into the forest.

"Lot of nasty things in the forest" Filch remarked casually as they walked along.

Harry heard several gulps but held his nerve. He wouldn't give Filch the satisfaction.

"Acromantula's, Giants, big Snakes and more besides" the man growled in a kind of sadistic happiness "you'll have a great time you little brats, just a shame I can't hang you from those manacles".

As Filch said this Harry stared straight ahead not replying. He looked calm but inside was anything but. The one thought going round his head was that it was a joke or that he'd misheard his Head of House. Surely they wouldn't actually go into the forest.

Eventually the group reached Hagrids cabin. The half-giant was waiting by the front steps with his boarhound Fang who immediately ran to Harry, Draco, Ron and Neville and began getting attention from them. Filch cast them and the dog a disgusted look before turning to Hagrid "well here they are Hagrid, I'll be back here at dawn" he grinned maliciously and looked at them "if there's anything left of them".

He then walked away chuckling.

"I don't know what that ruddy blokes doing here" Hagrid commented, shaking his head. He looked down at the five nervous looking students "right you five, we've got to into the forest, I'm investigating the deaths of Unicorns".

"Unicorns?" Draco asked in confusion.

"Yeh, the centaurs have reported several of them dead and with their blood drained".

Harry heard horrified gasps to his left where he knew Ron and Neville were standing. From his right he heard someone gulp and was gratified to know Nott was as nervous as the rest of them.

The five of them followed Hagrid and the Fang who loped along at the half-giants side.

Harry was surprised when they got just inside the forest and kept going. It was a job to keep up with Hagrid who always took long strides in one movement.

After walking for what seemed like an age, the seven of them stopped, Harry almost bumping into Hagrid. Harry looked down at the ground and his heart contracted in shock. Lying dead on the forest floor, two puncture marks on it's neck and deathly pale was a unicorn.

Harry watched as Hagrid knelt down and inspected it. After a moment he stood back up "it's dead alright" he turned to the students "Harry, you go with Draco and Nott, Ron, Neville you're with me".

"Alright, but I get Fang" Nott responded with a grin. Hagrid laughed mirthlessly "fine, but jus so's ya know e's a coward" Hagrid told him before striding off followed by Neville and Ron who seemed to be laughing at this last comment.

Harry and Draco called Fang to them and walked along with Nott through the forest. While they were acting calm and collected Nott seemed jumpy. Raising his lamp high and jumping at every small noise.

They walked until they found themselves in a clearing. The tree cover was sparse allowing them to gaze up at the moon which shone brightly.

They stared ahead and as one, froze. The sight in front of them was so horrifying that none of them seemed able to speak.

A Unicorn was lying on the ground dead and crouched next to it was...Harry wasn't sure what it was. It seemed to be some sort of figure in a dark cloak.

Whoever and whatever it was, it was hunched over the Unicorn. Harry could hear a faint slurping noise and felt thoroughly sick.

The thing was drinking the Unicorns blood. Before Harry or Draco had time to react in any way, Nott screamed, dropped the lamp and fled in terror the way they had come. Leaving Harry and Draco to face the creature on their own.

The creature, hearing the noise, whipped around to face them. Harry collected himself and tearing his eyes from the creature said to his brother "Draco, get Hagrid and the others".

Draco set his face and said stubbornly "I'm not leaving you Harry, we don't know what that thing's capable of".

Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation and yelled "go!, get Hagrid!".

Draco didn't argue this time, just flashed Harry a reassuring smile and sprinted off in the direction Nott had run.

When Harry turned back to face the creature the bottom dropped from his stomach. The creature in the hooded cloak was advancing menacingly upon him.

Harry tried to get wand out but only succeeded in dropping it. Cursing his clumsiness he stumbled backwards away from the figure which seemed to be gliding rather than walking towards him.

He tripped over a tree root and fell backwards just barely avoiding hitting his head. The creature reached him and was about to strike when suddenly from among the trees came the sound of hooves and a bellow of "be gone foul creature!". There was a kicking noise and Harry noticed in relief that the creature was fleeing.

The other creature approached and Harry was amazed to see that it was a centaur. He had heard that centaurs did not like humans on their territory and certainly did not help them.

The centaur reached out an arm and with a very firm grip hauled him to his feet "Mr Potter you must go it is not safe in this forest" the centaur told him anxiously.

"How do you know my name?" Harry asked him, feeling curious.

The centaur smiled faintly "even centaurs know of your deeds Mr Potter, your name has spread far and wide".

The centaur's face looked stern again "but back to my previous statement, you must go, both because of the creature and my people who would not approve".

Harry nodded his head, "of course I'll leave I don't want to cause any problems Mr..."

"Firenze" the centaur supplied helpfully.

"There's just one thing Mr Firenze, what was that thing?" he asked the centaur.

"That Mr Potter was a very foul creature, it keeps itself alive drinking Unicorn blood which is so powerful that it can keep a being alive even if they are an inch from death".

"But..." Harry thought for a second "but drinking Unicorn blood guarantees the being to live a cursed life, a half life due to Unicorns being pure creatures".

Firenze nodded, "quite so Mr Potter".

"Surely it's not worth it just to stay alive" Harry said unable to comprehend the point of it.

"Can you think of no one who would want to cling to life?" Firenze asked him grimly.

Harry's eyes grew wide in shock "Voldemort!" he exclaimed.

"And do you know what is hidden at the school at this precise moment Mr Potter?".

Harry's heart flew into his throat as he grasped the implications of what the centaur was saying "the Philosopher's Stone!" he shouted.

He needed to tell his friends about this. It explained everything. Why the stone was so heavily guarded and why it was at Hogwarts.

Harry heard rustling and whipped round to the source of the sound. Hagrid, followed by a breathless Draco, Ron and Neville appeared in the clearing along with Fang who had run off at the same time as Nott.

"Harry thank god!" Draco exclaimed running over to hug him fiercely as did Neville. Ron who didn't tend to hug just patted him on the shoulder and smiled.

"Arry, thank god yer alright!" Hagrid said. Harry looking into his face could see how upset the half-giant looked and Harry could guess his thoughts.

"It's not your fault Hagrid" he said rushing to reassure his friend.

"You must go Hagrid and quickly" Firenze urged Hagrid.

"Thank's for saving young Harry Firenze I owe you one" Hagrid said gratefully.

The five of them plus Fang walked off the way they had come.

It took some time to reach the edge of the forest. When they were in sight of Hagrids cabin Draco communicated to Harry through their mental link "tell me everything" he said in Harry's head.

Harry glanced at him and shook his head "not here" he responded mentally "once we're back in the common room".

Draco seemed satisfied with this.

Hagrid escorted the four of them and a shaking who had been waiting by the cabin back up to the castle where he bid the New Marauders goodnight and went to find Professor McGonagall and inform her of what had happened.

Once the weary foursome reached the portrait hole Neville rather breathlessly mumbled the password which was "Venomous Tentaculus" and the portrait swung aside to admit them.

They stumbled into the common room and over to a scattering of chairs and sofas which they promptly collapsed in.

Hermione who'd been working away at one of the tables set down her work and gasped in shock when she saw them and how exhausted they looked. She jumped up from her seat and rushed over to the corner in which they were sat.

"What happened? why are you back so soon?" she asked no one in particular.

They began to tell her. When they got to the part where they split up Harry and Draco took over the tale.

"There was this creature in a long black cloak" Draco told her.

"He was kneeling next to this dead Unicorn and seemed to be..." Harry swallowed "sucking it's blood".

Hermione gasped in horror "that's horrible!, why would someone do that?".

"Drinking Unicorns blood saves a being even if they are an inch from death" Draco supplied for her.

"But who would want to take on the curse that it brings?" Neville asked astutely.

"Good question Nev and one that Firenze...".

"Who's Firenze?" Hermione asked.

"Let me finish the tale and I'll answer all then" Harry said impatiently.

He explained how Nott had predictably ran off in terror along with Fang and how he'd sent Draco to get help. Hermione had tears in her eyes when she heard how he'd almost been attacked by the creature.

"I think the creature in the hood was Voldemort" he informed them. The expected reaction from Neville and Ron came. Neville fell off his seat in alarm and Ron hissed "don't say the name!".

Hermione and Draco both rolled their eyes and Hermione said in exasperation "oh really you two, you should stop being so scared of a name".

"Anyway" Harry continued "it must have been someone hosting Voldemort" he finished.

"But what would Voldemort or what's left of him be doing here?" Ron asked in confusion.

"That's obvious" Draco cut in before Harry could respond.

"Oh really" Ron said scathingly "go on then, tell all oh great one". Neville hit him with a cushion.

"Ow!" Ron said in annoyance "what was that for?".

"For being a prat" Neville told him "now just listen".

"As I was about to say, it's to do with the Philosophers Stone" Draco said.

"That's my thinking too" Harry said.

Hermione nodded as well "with a stone that can restore an individual to their proper body it's no wonder he'd want it".

"The question is" Neville said "how do we stop him?".

Harry ran his hand through his hair in frustration "this is what was bugging me, we don't even know where he's hiding, he could be in Hogsmeade, in the forest or even here in the castle".

"We'll just have to be vigilant then" Hermione said reasonably.

The five of them thus resolved to keep a look out for anyone behaving suspiciously. Harry had his own ideas that were growing clearer but he still couldn't be sure and he didn't want to accuse anyone until he was certain.

"So it's agreed then, we'll be extra watchful for the rest of the school year" Harry announced to agreement from the others.

'I only hope the stone isn't taken before we can act' Harry thought worriedly.

* * *

Two more chapters left to go in first year. Next up is the second Quidditch match of the season, Christmas, the third match and worries at the Manor.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: The characters except for Janice, Lucy, David & Molly all belong to JK Rowling who also owns the Potter Universe. I am not making any money from this.

* * *

Hi all, hope you enjoyed the last chapter. This chapter is going to be a mix of fluff and action.

* * *

Chapter Six: Nightmares, Romance and Betrayal

Harry Potter woke with a start. His heart was thudding away heavily in his chest. The room was dark. His mind was clouded. Where was he?. He tried to recall. 'Ah that's right'.

He ignited his lamp and found his bed illuminated. To his immense relief he was in his bed at Hogwarts. Safe and sound.

He could feel the sweat clinging to his face and body and reached over for a towel to wipe it off. After the last few nightmares that month, he'd taken to keeping a towel next to his bed just in case.

He slipped his glasses on and lay back, his head propped up on the pillows as he tried to recall the details of his dream.

It was fairly easy for many of his nightmares were vivid and this one was especially so.

He shut his eyes and could see it again.

He was walking through the Forbidden Forest only this time he had no one else with him. He was alone.

He soon found himself in front of a mirror. Not just any mirror either. It was the Mirror of Erised that he and the other New Marauders had found when running from Filch.

As he stared into it he saw a stone. It was dark red and shaped like an emerald. As he continued to gaze he saw something else.

The creature in the cloak was there. He spun around and saw the creature as he always did in this dream, kneeling down and drinking the Unicorns blood.

The creature turned around and raised itself up. It stared at Harry and though Harry could not see any eyes he was certain that the being was staring directly into his soul.

His scar began to burn. It was a searing agonising pain and seemed to get worse as the creature moved towards him.

"No!, stay away!" Harry shouted in fear.

The creature kept advancing not taking any notice.

"No!, no!".

Harry's eyes flew open and he let out a shuddering breath. Reaching for the pitcher of water on his bedside table, he poured himself a drink of water and drank deeply as his mind turned over the contents of the nightmare.

The main questions that he was pondering were firstly what connection if any did the Mirror of Erised have to the Philosophers Stone and secondly was the creature Voldemort or just one of his minions.

Harry knew of people who were so magically gifted that they could see things in their dreams that came true but it had never happened to him.

He heard a rustling noise and his bed hangings were drawn back "I could feel you having a nightmare again" Draco said in concern as he sat down on the beds edge.

Harry sighed wearily "I'm not sure if means anything or if the incident just scared me so much that I can't get away from it" he told his brother in frustration.

"Well you know what Hermione thinks and it's also what I think" Draco said.

Harry looked at through bleary eyes "but how can Voldemort be here? either in the forest or the castle?" Harry said running a hand through his messy hair and unconsciously massaging his scar.

Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"Surely someone would have seen him, surely Dumbledore would know...wouldn't he?" Harry pondered.

"All this speculation is pointless at this time of night" Draco said firmly "you need some sleep Harry, you've got another Quidditch match tomorrow remember?".

Harry nodded, "night Draco".

"Night Harry" Draco said briefly squeezing his brothers shoulder and drawing the hangs shut.

Harry slipped off his glasses, extinguished the lamp and settled back down to sleep and to his immense relief he did not have any more nightmares that night.

The next morning found Harry just as thoughtful as he had been the night before. His mind refused to get off the subject of his nightmare. His brain seemed to be analysing it even when he wished to think about other things such as the Quidditch match later that morning.

"Harry you look awful, hope your not coming down with something" commented a concerned Wood the Gryffindor captain.

"No I'm fine, just struggled to get to sleep last night" Harry assured him. 'It's not a complete lie' he told himself as he ate a slice of toast.

"Well if your sure" Wood replied sounding doubtful.

"I'll be fine Oliver, really I will" Harry said.

After a while the rest of the team arrived and talk turned to tactics and strategy for the match. Their first match had been against Slytherin, this match was to be against Ravenclaw.

"You need to be at the top of your game today Harry" Wood told him severely, "the new Ravenclaw Seeker is a girl called Cho Chang, she's a few years older than you and if what I've heard is true she'll give you a run for your galleons".

Harry nodded taking all of the information in. The talk when on for a few more minutes and then it was time to head down to the stadium.

Ron, Draco, Neville and Hermione wished him luck and he exited the great hall with the rest of his team mates.

They soon found themselves in the changing rooms getting changed. Once they were in their robes and had their hands clutched firmly on their brooms, Wood began a long speech which he finished off with: "a win today makes us serious contenders, especially as Slytherin crushed Hufflepuff last week, we win this and all we'll need to do is at least draw with Hufflepuff and we're in the final".

Wood surveyed the teams faces and was annoyed to find that Harry seemed to be the only one listening. The others seemed to be trying to relax.

"Was everyone listening?" Wood asked irritably to which he received a very firm and loud "yes!" which satisfied him.

"Right then, lets get out there and give them a good game and prove we deserve to be in the final".

With that last bit of speech over with the team, grasping their brooms tightly exited the changing room and strode onto the pitch. They were as usual confronted with a burst of sound.

The sight that Harry saw confused him. At least it did until he recalled something Uncle Sev had told him "I've always wanted to referee a Quidditch match" he'd said to Harry a few weeks ago.

Even if that was the case, Harry was a bit confused as to why it was happening so soon. Most Quidditch referees had to train for years as had Madam Hooch the resident referee and flying instructor.

'There's definitely more to this than Uncle Sev's letting on' Harry thought as he approached the centre of the pitch with the rest of his team.

A coin was tossed. The toss was won by Wood who chose the end without the sun in their eyes. Harry straddled his broom and as two sharp blasts sounded on the whistle he kicked off and zoomed high into the air enjoying the feeling of playing Quidditch once again.

As Harry began to zoom high above the pitch the weather turned from cloudy grey to torrential rain which lashed down heavily.

Harry spotted the Ravenclaw Seeker flying not far aways as he searched the for snitch. The weather continued to worsen and it was lucky that Harry had been taught how to do an Impervius Charm by his Mum in the summer.

Harry heard cheering and glanced down to see that Gryffindor had just scored. He did a short looped and cheered for a moment before returning to his hunt.

As Harry continued to search Gryffindor scored four more times in quick succession to make it forty-nil. Just as Harry was thinking his skills wouldn't be needed he saw Ravenclaw slowly begin to pull back.

After half an hour the score was seventy-sixty and Harry knew he had to find the snitch as matches only lasted for an hour.

Luck shined on him. As he was scanning the sky he caught sight of the small golden ball. He zoomed after it. Cho Chang was no fool however and immediately spotting him, took off in pursuit.

Harry vaguely registered as she pulled alongside that she had the same broom as he meaning this would be a case of luck rather than skill or broom quality.

Harry zoomed downwards racing nearer and nearer to the pitch below, Cho hot on his heels.

He suddenly pulled back sharply as the snitch hovered before him and zoomed off. Harry swore and took off after it. His hopes that Cho would not follow were dashed as he saw her pull level with him.

Their brooms reached the canvass covering on the stands. Harry reached out a hand as the snitch got there and just managed to snatch it out of the air.

He held the ball aloft. This being seen by Severus who blew his whistle signalling a Gryffindor victory by two hundred and forty points to ninety.

Harry had just begun to celebrate when he heard a crunch. He whirled around and saw with horror that Cho had not been able to pull back as he had and her broom had crashed into the stand. He saw her slide off the broom and begin to fall. There were gasps of horror from the spectators.

Memories flashed back into his mind of a day in the summer of 1988 when he suffered something similar and was nearly killed.

He wouldn't let that happen to someone else he decided.

He pocketed the snitch, aimed his broom downwards and zoomed after the now unconscious Cho. They were just ten feet from the ground when he reached her. Grabbing her hand her hauled with all his might and managed to pull her up onto his broom.

He then pulled back level and descended the last ten feet to the ground. After what could have been seconds or minutes, people were swarming onto the pitch. He saw the distinctively small form of Professor Flitwick Head of Ravenclaw House. Also there were the other Heads of House attempting to keep others back to give both Cho and a shocked Harry some breathing space.

"Let me through!, let me through!" a brisk and shaken voice said as Madam Pomfrey cut through the crowd.

She immediately knelt down next to Cho and began to examine her. She seemed relieved by what she found, "she has a head injury but it's not serious".

The normally stern witch turned to Harry and smiled at him "Mr Potter, I believe you have just saved Miss Chang's life, well done".

The Medi Witch conjured a stretcher for Cho and instructed a group of Ravenclaw seventh years to carry Cho to the hospital wing.

She then checked Harry over. Harry couldn't understand why he needed checking. He was just about to voice this sentiment when Madam Pomfrey anticipating him said "Mr Potter I believe you are in shock, you'll be alright once you've had a sit down and some peace and quiet, you should head back to your common room".

She then turned to someone that Harry couldn't see and said "you should take him back to Gryffindor Tower and instruct the other students not to hold a party, he needs rest".

Harry found himself being hauled to his feet and moved through the crowd. Harry vaguely registered a shock of blonde hair on one side and red hair on the other. He could see two others in front pushing people away making a path for him.

His mind finally clicked into gear and he realised that his friends and brother were getting him away from the chaos. He felt an immediate rush of gratitude to them.

To Harry at that moment it all felt like too much. He halted by Severus and handed the worried looking man the snitch. Before Severus could say anything, Harry and his friends walked off.

Severus obviously realised that the last thing Harry needed was to be crowded as he didn't follow them.

Up ahead Harry saw his dorm mates Seamus and Dean holding back several other Gryffindors. Despite his shock he could just about understand what they were saying "Madam Pomfrey said no party" Dean told them seriously.

"Harry needs rest and quiet, understand?" Seamus asked them in annoyance.

Harry saw the other Gryffindors disperse in disappointment.

As they reached the changing rooms Harry heard Draco say "thanks guys" to Dean and Seamus.

The Marauders entered the changing rooms. Hermione waited outside while Draco, Ron and Neville helped Harry change. Under normal circumstance Harry would have been embarrassed but he was still in so much shock that he felt it didn't matter.

Once he was back in his jeans and jumper he and the others called Hermione in and they all left the stadium.

Waiting outside for them was a concerned looking Hagrid "come on, lets get him down to my cabin" he told the others.

Harry wasn't about to argue and neither were they. Harry knew that Hagrid wouldn't pry and would wait for Harry to speak.

In what seemed like no time they reached Hagrids cabin and the half-giant opened the door shooing Fang back saying "give Harry space Fang!".

The seemed to understand as he stood back allowing Harry and the others to enter and for Harry to take a seat at the large table in the centre of the room.

As the five New Marauders sat down, Hagrid bustled about his kitchen area. Harry faintly heard the sound a kettle being filled and placed on the fire.

Harry soon found a mug of steaming hot tea being set down before him. He took a sip and a wonderful warm sensation overtook him.

He glanced at his large friend and smiled in gratitude, unable to speak.

The six of them sat in companionable silence for a while sipping their tea. Fang came up to Harry and stood next to him allowing himself to be stroked.

Harry stroked the boarhounds fur and revelled in the calming sensation that the cabin and his those close to him provided.

He knew that he'd have to talk about the incident for his own sanity if nothing else but he just couldn't face it at that moment.

* * *

Christmas approached at last. Harry, Draco and their friends were all packed for the train journey back to London the next morning.

They stayed up long into the night in the common room talking and joking. All of them were really looking forward to Christmas. Neville's family were staying at the manor as were Hermione's and Ron's family were coming over for Christmas dinner as the Weasley's had hosted the Christmas celebrations the previous year.

When Draco fell into bed that night he was exhausted but very happy. As he lay there he couldn't help but think how his life could have turned out were it not for the courageous sacrifice his birth mum had made when he was young.

When he was old enough he was told about his mother and due to his curiosity his father as well. He had also overheard conversations about Lucius Malfoy and knew that he was in Azkaban for his part in the attack on Neville's parents amongst other crimes.

Knowing as he did that his birth parents had both been in Slytherin he couldn't help but imagine himself in that house. He would have no doubt been bigoted, arrogant and sly.

He would also have had hangers on instead of friends as had been the case with his birth parents.

The more Draco thought about it the more he decided that his life was perfect. He had a loving family and amazing friends. He wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

No doubt that is what made what happened after he fell asleep all the more terrifying.

He dreamt that he was in Malfoy Manor. The house was damp smelling, dusty and full of cobwebs. He walked through the hallways until he reached the dining room.

Standing there as he always was in these dreams was Lucius Malfoy his face contorted into a sneer like he had a bad smell under his pointed nose.

"Draco my boy" Malfoy said coldly.

Draco looked around in shock as the scene changed to a cold, damp cell. Malfoy gestured around "do you see what your so called family has done to me!" he said sharply.

Draco's mouth felt dry and he felt afraid "h...how...how is this possible?" he whispered.

"You mean how can I reach you in your dreams when I have been kissed?" Malfoy asked perceptibly.

Draco, though afraid, nodded.

Malfoy took on a professor like stance "you see Draco, for magical beings their magic is a part of their soul and as long as that magic exists then their soul cannot be entirely removed" Malfoy began to pace "instead it lies dormant" he clenched a gloved fist "just waiting to be repaired and renewed".

Draco felt like running but his legs wouldn't move "one day Draco the Dark Lord will return and when he does..." Malfoy smiled. It was a cold calculating smile that didn't reach his eyes "when he does I shall be rewarded for my loyalty, he shall rescue me and I shall be reborn".

Malfoy advanced on Draco with surprising speed so that in moments he stood in front of him "and then young Draco I shall take you back and show you how a Malfoy truly behaves!".

Malfoy began to laugh. The sound echoed loudly off the cold stone walls. "No!" Draco shouted.

"No!, no!, no!".

"Draco wake up!" a voice said urgently.

"No!" Draco yelled again.

He suddenly felt himself being shaken awake roughly.

His eyes flew open and instantly met a pair of anxious bright green ones.

Harry could tell by Draco's reaction that he was about to cry.

Knowing his brother hated anyone but Harry seeing him upset he waved his wand and sound proofed the bed. With another wave the hangings closed leaving them sealed within.

"You saw him again didn't you Draco", it was a statement rather than a question.

Draco, looking pale and teary eyed could only nod. Harry pulled him into a tight hug and held him like that as his brother sobbed into his shoulder.

After a time Draco began to calm down and when he had he began to tell Harry about the dream as short as it was.

After listening Harry patted him on the shoulder "look Draco, Lucius is in Azkaban and won't be getting out any time soon and if he does and tries to go after you...", Harry's face took on a fierce expression "I'd just like to see him try to get past me, no one is going to hurt my brother and get away with it".

Draco smiled then "with you at my side I've got nothing to fear".

Harry went back to his own bed then and Draco fell asleep. This time he dreamt only of happy times.

* * *

The next morning as Harry, Draco and their friends travelled back to London on the Hogwarts Express Harry noticed that Draco was much more silent than usual.

It was obvious to Harry that his brothers dream from the previous night was still affecting him. Despite desperate to help Harry knew that when Draco was in this mood it was best to leave him be. "Harry, it's your turn", Ron's voice jolted him from his thoughts.

"Sorry Ron" he said apologetically as he returned to their game of wizards chess and realised that Ron was now only two moves from beating him.

* * *

Peter was hurrying through Diagon Alley focusing all his attention on his shopping list. He felt really stupid. It was just a week til Christmas and he'd not yet bought anyone's presents.

In Peter's defence however he and Remus had been mad busy at the shop for the last few weeks as wizards and witches rushed to get ready for Christmas day.

As Peter hurried along, eyes firmly planted on the list in his hand he bumped into something or rather someone and heard "ouch!" and a thud.

Peter rubbed his head and peered down. He saw, sat on the cobblestone street rubbing her head, the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his life.

She had blonde hair and dark brown eyes that looked as sweet as chocolate. Her skin was as pale as cream as smoother than any he'd ever seen.

For Peter it was love at first sight. And yet he felt she would be annoyed with him. 'Idiot', he thought to himself angrily. He always messed things up.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so clumsy," Peter reached out a hand to haul her up.

"It's alright, no harm done" she replied with a smile as she massaged her forehead.

'She's smiling at me' Peter thought in amazement. He'd never been the type to have women look at him in that way. James, Sirius and to a smaller extent Remus were always more popular with women than he.

"Doing some last minute shopping?" she asked nodding to the list in Peters hand.

"Uh...what?" Peter responded intelligently. He looked at the list "oh...oh yes...yes, not had much time lately" he said sheepishly.

"I have the same problem" she told him "we've been very busy at work recently so I've not had much time".

They both laughed.

"Look I know this might be a bit forward but..." Peter swallowed nervously. He'd never really done this before "would you like to...go...". He lost his nerve "forget it, you don't want to go out with me" he said feeling annoyed with himself.

"I'd love to go for a drink, how about we meet at the Leaky Cauldron in say...an hour?".

Peter grinned happily "that sounds great, I'll see you then" he said.

He went about his shopping afterwards with a spring in his step. After finishing the present shopping he swung by his and Remus' shop to see his friend.

"What are you looking so cheerful about?" Remus asked with a raised eyebrow.

Peter smiled widely "guess who's meeting a beautiful woman for a drink a minute".

Remus's eyes widened in surprise and he grinned "that's great Wormy, really great, hope you enjoy yourself".

"See you at home later, Lucy and me are making a casserole" Peter called over his shoulder five minutes later after he left the shop.

The Leaky Cauldron was packed to the rafters when Peter entered. It was so packed that he nearly knocked over someone returning from the bar.

He scanned the room for the woman he'd met. "Over here!" said a voice he recognised. He spotted her over in a booth near the fireplace and headed over.

After getting them both drinks he sat back down. They introduced themselves properly and he learned her name was Celia Foss.

She had as it turned out been two years below Peter in Slytherin. Peter didn't normally like anyone who'd been in Slytherin but then again he was friends with Andromeda Tonks Sirius's cousin and she was nice. Celia seemed very nice too.

She explained that her family was different to the usual Slytherin's in that her father who was a Pureblood had married a Muggleborn making her a Half-Blood hence why they weren't prejudiced against others.

"I have to admit" Peter said as he set his pint down on the table "I didn't think you'd actually show up".

Celia looked confused "but I said I would" she said sounding offended.

"Not because of you" Peter amended hastily "because of me" he gestured to himself "I'm not exactly good looking and I've never been very good at talking with women".

"Well you're doing a very good job now Peter" she said smiling.

He smiled back. Looking at his watch he swore. He then looked embarrassed "sorry", he said.

"I have to go, I'm helping make dinner tonight". He got up and so did Celia. He kissed her on the cheek "I hope I'll see you again and soon" he said.

Celia grinned "you will for definite, how about we meet up lunch tomorrow?".

"It's a date" Peter said jokingly.

"It is" Celia replied seriously but with a warm smile.

She kissed him on the lips and left the pub.

Peter ran a hand over his lips and stared after her in amazement. A woman actually wanted to be with him!.

Needless to say that when he returned to the manor a few moments later he was over the moon and confused everyone as to why he was whistling given that he never tended to sing.

* * *

The week up to Christmas seemed to fly by and in no time at all it was Christmas Eve. As the Marauder Clan was hosting Christmas this year Ron was staying the night and he cornered Harry with a concerned look on his face "we need to tell someone what Quirrells up to" he said urgently.

Their whispering drew Hermione and Neville over along with Draco.

"What are you two whispering about?" the bushy haired girl asked them.

Harry gestured to Ron "he thinks we need to tell someone about Quirrell".

"He may have a point" said Neville weighing in on the conversation "we don't want to chance him getting the stone".

"Problem is that we have no evidence Nev" Draco pointed out to the pudgy boy.

"Oh...yeah...right" Neville grinned sheepishly.

"I think we need to bide our time, don't forget Professor Snape is onto him and watching him closely".

"I agree with Hermione" Harry said "we can't do anything until Quirrell goes after the stone".

They reluctantly agreed to do nothing for now and turned their attention to the Christmas prank they were about to play that night on the Marauders.

James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were oblivious to the planning going on as they chatted in a corner about Christmas dinner the next day.

"So did you ask Celia to come here Wormy?" asked Sirius teasingly.

Peter smiled and nodded "she said she'd love to".

Remus and James smiled and clapped him on the back.

"Wormy's got a woman at last" James said sounding proud.

"Shut up Prongs" Peter said slapping him on the head.

* * *

As the Marauders laughed and talked in the drawing-room the young Marauders were finishing up their plan. They had put a dissolving solution on the Marauders bed clothes meaning that when the Marauders got ready for bed their clothes would disintegrate.

Now all the youngsters had to do was watch and wait. To pass the time they played some wizards chess and talked with Molly and with Ginny who'd also been allowed to stay the night.

Late that night they heard the sound of voices. It was the Marauders wishing each other a good night.

They heard doors slam. Within minutes came outraged and alarmed voices.

"Oh my god!".

"Help!, someone help!, my clothes!".

"Who did this!".

"Argh!".

They opened Harry's door and peered out. They saw the Marauders running. "Bang!". The four men rang smack bang into each other and collapsed in a tangle heap on the first floor landing.

"Get off!" Sirius said irritably.

"Remus move your elbow away from my nose" said Peter.

With great effort they right themselves and brushed themselves down.

They were of course all stark naked.

"We need to call the Aurors!" Peter half shouted.

"Me and Sirius are Aurors Pete" James said in exasperation.

That was it for the young Marauders. They fell about laughing uncontrollably.

"Ah ha!" said a voice next to them.

Harry and the others froze.

Looking up they came face to face with Janice and Lucy. Both were looking stern and had their arms crossed.

They soon burst out laughing as well however which set the youngsters off again.

"And just what are you all laughing about?" asked James mock indignantly as the Marauders (now fulled clothed again) approached.

"Yeah you two are supposed to be on our side!" Sirius said mock hurt.

"Sorry love, it's...just...too...funny" Janice gasped out between gales of laughter.

"And as for you lot" Remus said pointing to the youngsters "be prepared for a prank of our own".

"We won't tell you when or where" Peter finished off.

The four men mock flounced away to their rooms amid gales of laughter.

* * *

Meanwhile three hundred miles away Celia arrived at a manor house not unlike that of Marauder Manor in size but scarcely as cheerful.

She pulled the bell rope and from inside heard running footsteps as someone or something hurried to reached the front door.

When the heavy oak door creaked open Celia was confronted by a small creature with batlike ears and large brown eyes. The house elf bowed ridiculously low to the ground. So low in fact that it's nose touched the cold stone floor.

"Will madam please follow me?" the elf asked when it had straightened up again.

Celia hesitantly followed the elf across the entryway to the drawing-room door. She hated coming to this house. How she wished she could curse the man that lived here.

She shivered as she thought about the man waiting for her.

The house elf pushed open the door and she heard his nervous voice: "apologies Master but the visit you is waiting for is arriving".

"Show her in and leave Soopy" came the cold reply.

Celia entered the room behind the house elf and winced as the door banged shut loudly as the elf gladly fled.

"You are late", Nott said frostily.

Celia said nothing in reply and Nott got up from his seat by the fireplace and eyed her lecherously.

"What progress have you made with the Marauders?".

"I have entered a relationship with Peter Pettigrew as instructed" she said. She could feel bile rising in her throat. Peter and the others were amazing to her. She hated this.

"I expected more by now, remember what's at stake" Nott said crisply and malevolently.

"You think I don't know what's at stake" Celia replied hotly "I know you have my father somewhere and I know what I have to do to save him but I need time!".

"You have one week Miss Foss, if you don't deliver the Marauders and the Potter boy to me in that time your father will pay the price".

Celia couldn't bring herself to speak. She simply nodded, blinked away the tears that were threatening to fall and turning on her heel exited the drawing-room.

Once outside the manors wards she decided that she couldn't go straight to Marauder Manor in this state as it would cause concern and bring unwanted questions. She thus headed back to her apartment in London.

As she flopped down on her sofa her composure broke like a dam and the tears flowed freely as she sobbed. She was in agony.

She was having to lie to and manipulate the man she loved and his family. She knew she had to do it for her fathers sake but that didn't make it hurt any less especially when she thought of the fate that awaited Peters nephew Harry for it was obvious what was to happen and why he was needed.

* * *

When Harry woke up on Christmas morning he felt like something was off though he couldn't pin point what it was. He simply had a feeling that something was going to happen.

He sat up, shrugged off the feeling, yawned, scratched and a ran a hand through his messy hair. After slipping on his glasses he got dressed for the day in blue jeans, an orange t-shirt and a red jumper with a golden snitch on it.

The odd feeling came back as he reached his bedroom door. He tugged on the handle and the door opened. A cold, sticky substance poured all over him and as he looked into the hallway a wind machine which most certainly had not been there the night before blew a large quantity of feathers onto him.

Coughing and spluttering Harry staggered over to his floor length mirror and peered at his reflection.

He was covered from head to toe in a brownish substance that looked a lot like treacle and many feathers. He looked life a very muddy chicken.

He stumbled out onto the landing and came face to face with Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione who'd all been covered in the same substances.

Judging by the howls of laughter echoing from the stairs leading down to the entrance hall they knew who had done the deed.

The scowls they had in place dissolved. All was fair after all and it was an amazing prank. They thus magnanimously bowed to the Marauders creative genius and went to their respective rooms for a shower and change of clothes before breakfast.

* * *

"Merry Christmas you lot" Peter called from the stove as he cooked waffles and pancakes for everyone's breakfast.

There was a chorus of Merry Christmases in return as the New Marauders sat at the enlarged kitchen table enjoying the smell of food emanating from where Peter stood.

Peter had just finished dishing out breakfast for the kids when Sirius, James and Remus entered one after another followed by Janice carrying David and Lucy yawning heavily bringing up the rear.

There was another chorus of good mornings and Merry Christmases and many hugs as the adults and David sat down.

The conversation as always was lively and tended to revolve around presents and Christmas dinner.

Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Neville would be heading back to their homes for the morning and much of the afternoon but would return for Christmas dinner with their parents.

* * *

Later that afternoon the guests began arriving for the Christmas party. Among the guests was Severus, Albus and Professor McGonagall.

Attending a Marauder party for the first time was Celia, Peters girlfriend.

"Hey love" Peter said smiling as he cut through the crowd of guests to greet her.

"Hey you" Celia said with a smile that didn't meet her eyes.

"What's wrong love?" Peter asked in concern.

"It's nothing Peter, I'm fine, just a bit nervous" she lied.

As Peter led her over to introduce her to some of the guests only one thought was going through her mind 'I hate myself'.

* * *

Christmas passed by happily but eventfully and New Years Eve arrived. The Marauders were hosting a party for their friends at the Manor and everyone was very excited.

Peter was just putting the finishing touches to a banner which loudly proclaimed "Happy New Year From The Marauders!" when Celia arrived in a whoosh of flames and soot.

Coughing slightly she accepted his help to sit down and gratefully accepted his offer to use scourgify.

Once she was clean Peter kissed her deeply and said, "hey sweetheart, didn't know you were dropping by this early".

Celia looked into his dark blue eyes and felt this was the hardest thing she'd ever have to do but she just couldn't deceive him anymore. She knew her father would pay and she would probably be next but she didn't care. She loved Peter and it she had to warn him.

"Celia what's wrong?", Peter asked her in concern. She snapped out of her thoughts and a tear rolled down her cheek as she opened her mouth to speak "Peter there's something I have to tell you, you'll hate me for it and I understand that but you have to know...".

She stopped speaking and took a deep breath as she began to choke up.

"Celia what is it you're scaring me now" Peter said grasping one of her hands.

"I've been helping Patroclus Nott in a plan to capture you all and deliver you all to him" she said hurriedly.

Peter just stared at her for a moment and then to Celia's confusion began to guffaw heartily.

"You help Nott!" he shrieked in mirth. His laughter died abruptly as he noticed her facial express remained serious and sad.

"No...you...you have to be joking...you can't...you wouldn't..." he stammered in shock.

Celia just nodded her head and replied "it's true, all of it and he plans to capture you tonight that's why I had to tell you".

Peter couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was like he was in a nightmare. The woman he loved (and he did love her even after such a short time) had been helping a Deatheater capture them.

One part of his brain (the reasonable part) said: "she must have a reason". But at this moment Peter didn't care about the reason. The only thing he cared about was getting the details and informing the others.

Before he had a chance however a blaring horn like sound announced that someone or perhaps several someone's had broken through the wards.

Peter through a disgusted glance at Celia and muttered a spell. In an instant she was bound up with thick ropes and unable to move.

"I love you Peter!" she shouted in anguish as she watched the man she loved hurry from the room.

* * *

James had been busy getting ready for the party and was when the wards went off, in the process of putting on his best dress robes.

"What the hell!" he shouted.

Lucy came running from the bathroom wand in hand. She was already dressed but her hair being only half finished was sticking out at all angles making her resemble something that had been dragged through a hedge.

"I'll check on Molly and David" she told him as they hurried from the room.

As James reached the entrance hall he stumbled on a scene of chaos. Sirius was battling two men in masks that could only be Deatheaters while Remus tackled a tall well built man without a mask that seemed familiar.

Peter was fighting a rather portly man. "Nott!" James muttered.

He had no time to help anyone however as he found himself tackling his own Deatheater.

He and his fellow Marauders seemed to be holding the enemy off well - that is until...

"Oh no!" James muttered in dismay.

He had just taken down his opponent with a well placed stinging hex followed up by a jelly legs jinx and a fully body bind. He turned to the front door or rather where it had once been and saw more men or possibly women (it was hard to tell) wearing masks entering through the wrecked doorway.

"There's too many!" he shouted.

They had two options. The first being to fight against overwhelming odds and be killed for certain, the second try to escape and the third...

"Lower your wands" he told the others as they were swamped by further Deatheaters.

"James have you lost it?" screamed Sirius in fury.

"We have no choice Padfoot, there's too many, it's better to be taken prisoner and find a way to escape than to die and never see our family again".

Reluctantly his brothers dropped their wands and raised their hands above their heads.

"That's better" said a cold voice.

James felt a gloved hand smack him across the mouth drawing blood. He along with the others was then bound and gagged and shoved through the doorway to into the grounds.

The last thing he heard before everything faded to black was two words "Petrificus Totalis".

* * *

I am evil leaving these cliffhangers in. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and sorry it was so long coming. Hopefully the next one will be up sooner.

The next chapter will have more action and suspense.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter Characters save for Janice, Lucy, David, Molly & Celia belong to the awesome JK Rowling

* * *

Hi everyone hope you enjoy this chapter. It's quite dark but hopefully a good read.

* * *

Chapter Seven: The Cruelty Of Nott and Harry See's Red

James woke up to a throbbing head. The room - whatever room it was - seemed to be spinning. He also noted that everything was blurry. He realised that his glasses had fallen off.

He fumbled around desperately for them.

"Here Prongs", said Peter as he slipped the glasses onto James's face.

"Thanks Wormy" James said. He blinked a few times and took in his surroundings. They were in room that must have been a cellar of some kind as there were stairs at the other end of it.

The room was very dark save for the light filtering in through one small window near the ceiling.

"Is everyone ok?", called out James to his brothers.

He received affirmatives from all that they were for the moment alright.

He tried to stand and found to his immense surprise that he was not being restrained. 'Obviously they've put up anti-apparition wards' he thought.

"Where do you think we are?" Peter asked no one in particular.

"I'd bet you all the gold in Gringotts we're at Nott Manor" Remus responded.

"It would be just like him to be involved in this" growled Sirius "I know he was one of those Deatheaters even if he was hiding like a coward".

"All this speculation is pointless" James cut in, "we need to formulate an escape plan".

"Prongs is right" Remus agreed, "first we need information, we need to know where we are and get a message to someone".

"But how?" lamented Peter "no one here will help".

Their musings were cut short by the sound of a key turning in a lock and heavy booted footsteps coming down the stairs. The sound reverberating off the walls loudly.

A heavyset in robes with the ugliest face James had seen on a wizard looked down at him. "Come with me" he said haughtily, hauling James to his feet.

James tried to overpower him but a rough voice called out lazily: "Incarcerous". Thick ropes shot from seemingly out of nowhere and bound James from hand to foot. He was unable to move.

The first man kicked James's legs from under him. James toppled over and fell on his right arm. He heard a crack. Something had broken.

The man dragged him across the dirty cellar floor to the stairway where with the help of the other wizard he hauled James up the stairs and out of sight.

The door banged shut with a loud clang and was locked once again.

"James!" Sirius shouted.

* * *

Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville, Fred, George, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna were all in a field near The Burrow. Harry and some of the others were playing a three sided Quidditch match with a goalkeeper and two chasers for each team.

Harry, Ron & Fred were on one team while Draco, Neville & George were on the other.

Ginny was refereeing the match and Luna was cheering on from the ground.

They had tried to persuade Hermione to play but while she enjoyed watching Quidditch she hated going on a broom despite being adept at riding one. She had instead opted to read a book her parents had given her for Christmas. It was a book on Magical Creatures and she'd been engrossed in it for over a week.

As she read, Luna cheered and the Quidditch match went on above her Hermione heard fast footfalls on the deep snow. She put her book down and turned her head towards the sound.

She could see a round figure swathed in thick winter clothing running down the lane from The Burrow towards the field.

Frowning, she wondered who it was and what they could want. It certainly wasn't dark enough to haul them all inside and it wasn't dinner time.

The round figure stopped beside her and placed a hand on her shoulder. The person was panting heavily and seemed to have run flat out from the direction of The Burrow to speak to them.

As the person pulled back the hood of their coat and took of the scarf that had been obscuring their face Hermione saw that it was Mrs Weasley.

"Mrs Weasley, are you alright? has something happened?" Hermione asked her in concern.

Mrs Weasley looked at her and Hermione could see that her eyes were red raw from crying.

Evidently she was not the only one to have heard Mrs Weasley's approach as seven brooms descended with a loud crunch on the snowy ground and they were soon joined by the other Weasley's, Harry, Draco, Neville and Luna all looking puzzled and concerned.

Harry took one look at Mrs Weasley's face and said perceptive as ever "what's happened Mrs Weasley?".

Mrs Weasley looked at Harry and Draco who were standing side by side and responded in a voice thick with emotion "oh my dears, my poor dears...it's your fathers they've...they've been...captured...by...Deatheaters". She sniffled and taking out a handkerchief dabbed at her eyes as fresh tears threatened to fall.

Harry and Draco looked at each other and both seemed to have had the same thought as Draco asked "what about ours Mum's & Molly and David?".

Mrs Weasley brightened a little at this and said "oh, they're alright, a bit shaken up but they managed to get away, they arrived here a few minutes ago along with your house elves".

Both Harry and Draco visibly breathed a sigh of relief. 'At least not everyone we care about is in danger' Harry thought.

The group of youngsters followed Mrs Weasley back up to the house with Harry and Draco right on her heels. Neither would relax until they saw their Mothers and siblings with their own eyes.

As they entered The Burrow's kitchen they halted by one of the counters and just stood staring. In front of them looking dishevelled but unharmed were Lucy, Janice, Molly and David who was sitting in his Mothers arms surprisingly calmly.

Eventually mother and child rushed towards each other "oh my poor Harry, my poor baby!" Lucy exclaimed as she hugged him fiercely.

Harry hugged her back just as hard, tears rolling down his cheeks in silent relief that she and the others were safe.

"Oh Draco, I'm so glad you're safe!" Janice said emotionally as she hugged her son and kissed him on the head. Draco felt a bit embarrassed at being hugged but was just so happy his mum, aunt, sister and brother were all ok that he relaxed into the hug.

After several minutes the mothers and sons reluctantly relinquished their hugs and Harry and Draco walked over to their sister.

Molly had stood apart from the emotional reunion of parents and children but now as they walked over to her she threw her arms around them without saying a word.

They were silent as well for words could not express how happy they were that she was safe.

All the time as Harry hugged his little sister one thought burned inside his mind and through his connection to Draco he could tell the same thought was in his brothers mind too.

Revenge!.

They would make the scum that had wrecked their house, frightened their mothers and siblings and taken their fathers and uncle pay.

After spending a bit of time with David the two brothers waited for a quiet moment. Not easy at The Burrow given how crowded it was.

Once the earlier commotion died down they slipped out through The Burrows front door and began to trudge off back to their home.

They had decided via their mental link that they would grab some supplies and find Theodore Nott. Given that they were certain his father was involved they were sure that if they found him they could make him reveal where his father was.

"And where do you think you two are going?" a calm asked when they had only got a ten yards up the track.

The brothers as one, turned to face Ron. Their friend was standing on the porch of The Burrow looking furious.

"Ron..." Harry began.

"I'm going with you" Ron said in a tone of finality.

And he joined them, his wand tucked firmly in his jeans pocket.

"And where would you three gentlemen be off to?" asked another voice. A voice they knew well, for it was the voice of...

"Professor Dumbledore!" Draco said in surprise.

"Your powers of observation are astounding Ronald" Dumbledore replied in amusement.

"But...but..." Harry stuttered.

"Why am I here?".

The three friends nodded feeling dumbstruck.

"I am here gentlemen to help get Mr Potter and Mr Black back".

The three kids walked back to The Burrow with Dumbledore with Harry and Draco feeling immensely happy. If they had Dumbledore's help they'd get their parents no problem.

Various order members began to arrive including Mad Eye Moody the scary ex Auror who was very paranoid about security, Severus Snape the Hogwarts Potions Master and an uncle in every way but blood to Harry and Draco, Minerva McGonagall Head of Gryffindor House who tried to act calm but teared up upon seeing Harry and Draco and Kingsley Shacklebolt who worked under James and alongside Sirius in the Auror office.

They were joined by new order members such as Nymphadora Tonks who was in Auror training and Bill Weasley the eldest Weasley who was very good at curse breaking and was luckily home for Christmas.

Harry and Draco were allowed to stay in the kitchen as the guests arrived but when all of the adults had assembled Mrs Weasley ushered them out of the kitchen into the living room much to their consternation.

Fred and George seeing they're annoyance walked up to them and said:

"If you two want...

To hear what they're saying...

We've got a way...

A new device...

We've invented...

Follow us...

"What is it?" asked Harry and Draco at the same time.

"I still say it's creepy when they do that" muttered Ron to Neville who sniggered.

They all followed Fred and George upstairs to their room and went in.

"Mind out for the box!" called out George a moment too late.

Ron fell over the box with a loud thud landing on his stomach.

He got up a moment later looking thorough disgruntled and glared at his brothers.

"What did you idiots leave that there for?" he asked irritably as he rubbed his mid section.

"My dear Gred I do think Icle Ronniekins is mad at us" said George in amusement.

"It seems so my dear Forge but I think he'll change his mind when he see's this".

The two boys grinned manically and reached down under a loose floorboard.

Harry could see a large assortment of joke and prank items hidden beneath it.

Fred held up what looked like an ear on a very long piece of string.

"What on earth is that?" asked Neville in astonishment.

"This ickle kiddiewinks is what we call an extendable ear" said George smugly.

"What does it do?" asked Draco in interest.

"Using this ear it's possible to hear conversations in other rooms..." began Fred.

"Even ones which have been soundproofed" finished George.

"We'll show you how it works..."

"If you follow us".

The Twins led the way from their room and onto the landing.

The Twins lowered the ear down the stairs and swung it round to the door of the kitchen.

"We shouldn't be doing this, we'll get in trouble" Hermione said uneasily.

"Oh come on Mione" said Ron "this is about James, Remus, Sirius and Peter, Harry and Draco's family they deserve to know what's being said".

There were nods of agreement from the others and Hermione conceded defeat as the ear began to pick up the sound of raised voices.

"I think we should tell the children who it was" growled the voice of ex-auror Alastor Moody.

"They're far too young" responded Lucy "they can't do anything to help and would probably do something silly like go after him".

"I agree with Lucy, I say we leave Harry, Draco and Molly out of this" said Janice.

On the stairs, Harry, Draco and Molly exchanged outraged looks at this.

The discussions in the kitchen went on "have we found out their location yet?" came the voice of Albus Dumbledore.

"We've localised the area" said Kingsley "it's a wizarding neighbourhood which means multiple houses so it'll take time to pinpoint the location but me, Moody and the other Aurors are working on it".

There was further discussion on a plan and it was decided that once the location was pinpointed the Auror squads would rush in alongside Albus, Severus, Frank Longbottom, Arthur Weasley and - to the horror of Harry and Draco - Lucy and Janice and Bill Weasley.

"Headmaster I feel that I should be first in as any Deatheater would recognise me and it would be a good distraction" Severus said.

"No!", Harry, Draco and Molly shouted together before they could stop themselves.

There was movement from the kitchen and the door opened. The Twins desperately attempted to get the extendable ear out of the way but were a moment too slow.

Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley, Lucy, Janice, Severus and Professor Dumbledore hurried out of the kitchen and were surprised to find, standing on the stairs, a large group of children.

Bill who'd followed the others out was smirking at the use of the extendable ear.

"Harry, Draco, Molly come down here, now" Lucy said in a stern voice. Looking sullen the trio moved past their friends and trudged down the stairs to their mothers.

They were taken outside and before they had a chance to speak Janice spoke "do you three have any idea how rude it is to eavesdrop?" she asked, hands on hips.

"Not only rude" added Lucy "there were things being discussed which weren't for your ears hence why we sent you out of the kitchen".

"It's a good job we did eavesdrop" Harry shot back hotly.

"Yeah" Draco added "planning to be a little heroic are we, what happens to us if you get killed mum? or you aunt Lucy?" he said in anger.

"I don't want either of you to die" said a tearful Molly "Dad, Sirius, Remus and Peter are gone, I couldn't bear to lose you two" Molly broke down in tears and was comforted by Draco.

"That goes for all three of us" Harry said speaking for all of them "if we can't put ourselves in danger for this then neither can you two" he finished and placed his hands on his hips for added emphasise.

The two witches who were tearing up at the emotional outbursts grabbed their children in group hug and stood there for a while.

The silence was soon broken however as a loud voice sounded from the living room. "What did you think you were doing!" shouted Molly Weasley furiously "using this thing to eavesdrop, how dare you!".

"Looks like the tranquillity is over Lucy said jokingly earning a laugh from everyone.

The meeting resumed this time with Harry, Draco and Molly present and the final details were worked out. It was decided that the groups would go in under cover of darkness.

Bill would move in first to take down the wards alongside Severus who had extensive knowledge of dark wards and curses.

The Aurors who had been amended to include Tonks, Kinsley and Moody (Moody being a consultant on dark wizards a post Sirius had created specially for Moody).

These would be followed by Albus Dumbledore, Arthur Weasley and Frank Longbottom with Lucy and Janice due to the conversation with their children having opted to stay behind.

* * *

"Mr Potter we meet again" said the cold disdainful voice of Patroclus Nott.

"Go to hell Nott" James replied fiercely.

"Oh James, James, James", Nott laughed. He then backhanded James across the face with a gloved hand.

"I'm going to enjoy this" Nott said as he aimed his wand at James and said softly "Crucio".

James began to writhe in agony but could escape as thick ropes had bound his body.

"You are a fool James Potter and you are your family will regret crossing me".

The curse was applied again and again until James collapsed.

When he awoke he found Nott standing over him still looking annoyed that James had passed out.

"I have very fun plans for your family Potter" he laughed cruelly "oh yes".

He muttered a spell and a slash appeared of James' cheek. This was followed up by slashes on his arms, chest, neck and back.

"I shall kill you and your friends, your wife and Mr Blacks wife shall become my slaves, they can work alongside my house elves and as for your children and nephew I shall mould them into avid supporters of the Dark Lord".

James struggled frantically to get free and strangle this evil man but he couldn't move, the ropes were so tight.

"And when he returns those children will sacrifice themselves to him and he will end the threat they pose once and for all" Nott said with a maniacal gleam in his eyes.

"No!, I'll kill you Nott, you won't get away with this!" James shouted as the other wizard turned to the open door and said "taken him away.

James was paralysed again and knew no more.

* * *

Severus Snape and Bill Weasley were just moving out of a clump of trees on boundary of where the Marauders were imprisoned.

The two men worked in silence to bring down the wards and force a way in. It took them three hours to do so as the wards were well constructed and it was only Severus's experience and Bill's great ability in this area that ensure they managed it.

The two men moved through the gap in the wards and surveyed the manor. "Damn!" said Severus in disappointment.

"What's wrong?" Bill asked not understanding why Snape would be so upset.

"It's not Nott's Manor House" Severus told in.

"Ah, damn" said Bill finally understanding.

The two men both famed for their sneaking ability silenced their footwear and continued to move closer to the manor.

The opened the gates which were tall and imposing made of iron with gargoyle statues flanking them.

Moving up the path to the main entrance they saw someone by the front door. Severus pulled Bill aside into a hidden area.

"What did you see?" asked Bill realising immediately that something was up.

"A Deatheater guarding the entrance, I'll distract him then we take him down, got it?". Bill nodded in agreement and the two men walked in silence up to the front entrance.

"Who's there?" the Deatheater guard asked sharply.

"It's me Severus Snape", Severus said as they drew level with the man.

"Severus!", said the figure in surprise "I thought you'd changed sides".

Severus smiled warmly and replied calmly as he brought his wand up at the same time as Bill's "I did you fool".

"STUPEFY!" Severus and Bill shouted together.

The Deatheater was blown backwards, his head slammed against the door with a crunch and he fell to the floor quite unconscious.

After they checked the rest of the perimeter for more guards and found it deserted Severus and Bill both fired red sparks into the air as the signal for all clear.

They soon joined by a group of Aurors led by Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody.

And after that were joined by Frank Longbottom, Arthur Weasley and Albus Dumbledore as agreed upon.

"Stand back!" called Dumbledore.

Everyone moved back a safe distance. "Confringo!", the aged wizard shouted aiming his wand at the heavy wooden door which barred their entrance to the manor.

Everyone ducked down to avoid the hail of splinters that flew past. When the smoke cleared all that remained of the door was a few pieces near the top of the door frame.

Dumbledore and Severus led the way inside.

Severus's first impression of the place was that it had not been constructed for wizards and was almost certainly from a time when the area had Muggles living here.

The irony was not lost on Severus. The followers of a being (you couldn't really call Voldemort a man) that hated Muggles had hidden in a Muggle house.

'Minerva won't believe this' he thought smiling slightly.

From out of nowhere they heard "stupefy!" and ducked. When they right themselves they found they were face to face with a large group of Deatheaters. As they battle away against their foes Severus said to Dumbledore "the cellar must be close by if there are this many in this area!".

"You take Arthur and Bill and find a way to get there, we'll hold them off!" the Headmaster answered.

With a nod Severus moved over to Bill and Arthur who were fighting side by side and informed them of what Dumbledore wished them to do.

The three wizards with silent steps and disillusionment charms slipped away from the ranks of Deatheaters and began to look for a secret door or a room that was too small or even a room with a door and some steps (who said it had to be elaborate).

It took a lot of searching and fighting including some false areas. but they finally found themselves in what would have been the servants area of the manor and found a flight of stairs.

Before they could go down they heard a voice behind them "you really should pay better attention" said the cold voice with a trace of mirth.

"I'd recognise that greasy hair anywhere, so it's true then, Severus Snape really is a traitor, knew you would be of course" Nott said casually.

"Turn around, all of you" he ordered and the three wizards reluctantly turned to face him.

"You were in love with that filthy Muggle" Nott laughed "she got hers in the end, pretending to be a witch".

"Don't you dare say anything against Lily!" Severus shouted in fury (he wouldn't let anyone insult her).

"Still in love with her eh? I can bring her back if you want" Nott offered slyly "if you help me that is" he added.

"No thank you" Severus spat "I know what sort of spell brings the dead back and she wouldn't be Lily anymore just your minion".

"So be it, don't say I didn't offer" Nott smirked cruelly "Crucio!". The spell caught Severus off guard. He was hit full on and the pain of the spell caused him to tumble down the steps landing in a heap near the cellar door.

"Go down to the cellar and move the prisoners" Nott ordered.

Several shadows moved past Bill and Arthur who were battling Nott.

* * *

"Did you guys hear that thud?" asked James hoping he wasn't going mad.

"Not only that but I can hear raised voices and spell fire" Remus added.

James thanked god for Remus' hearing abilities. Being a werewolf did have a few advantages after all it seemed.

Every one of the Marauders had been tortured by Nott then dragged back to their cellar prison. It seemed to James that Nott didn't even want information he just wanted to break them

They had held him off so far but everyone has a breaking point, even the most brave of individuals. Hence the major relief James felt as he realise that help must be on the way.

"Listen!" said Peter.

They all listened intently and heard curses and spell fire. A chunk of plaster from the ceiling fell down onto Sirius's head "oh come on!" he said in frustration.

The others laughed a little.

"Someone's disapparated" Remus informed them.

"It must be that son of a bitch Nott" James said feeling furious. He'd done this to them and he'd gotten away. The worst part of it was that due to this house not having an connection with Nott there was no real proof that it was him.

'Except for our memories!" James thought as a lightbulb went on.

That lightbulb went out though as he recalled that for an influential man like Nott they would require more than just memories.

There was the sound of a key turning in a lock and two figures in masks entered the room "we're moving you" one of them grunted.

But before they could cross the room one of them was scratching furiously as painful yellow boils sprouted on his face and hands.

He disapparated quickly leaving his comrade to be stunned and captured or rather he would have been captured had a house elf not appeared and spirited the unconscious individual away.

"Damn it all!" Arthur Weasley cursed as he entered the cellar "thought for sure we'd got him".

As Bill revived Severus Arthur removed the ropes binding the Marauders.

"I think you all need to go to St Mungo's for a check up" Arthur said seriously as he surveyed their injuries.

"We'll be fine..." Sirius began to protest.

"No arguments you four" Arthur said in a no nonsense tone that usually belonged to his wife "you could be seriously hurt so you're going to the hospital".

"Alright Arthur you win" James conceded with a smile.

* * *

A loud crack of apparition was heard by those currently residing in The Burrow and they all hurried out to see who had returned.

It was Albus Dumbledore who was joined moments later by Arthur Weasley and his son Bill.

"Where's everybody else?" asked Lucy fearfully.

"Dad!" Harry shouted "where's Dad, why isn't he and the others here?".

"They're not...they're not dead, are they?" Draco asked in horror as Molly who was sandwiched between Lucy and Janice began to tear up.

Dumbledore held up a hand halting further questions "your parents, Harry, Draco and Molly are safe as are your uncles".

The relief was plain for all to see on their faces. They headed inside to hear more.

Once Dumbledore and the others were seated with a cup of tea (or glass of pumpkin juice in the case of the children) Dumbledore continued to recount the events of the rescue.

"Severus Snape was hit by a stunning curse and fell down some stairs, he's alive and well for the most part but he's been taken to St Mungo's as they believe he has concussion, your fathers and uncles were also taken there as they suffered very bad injuries during their imprisonment, but they should be fine, everyone else got off with minor cuts and bruises" he finished and the customary twinkle returned to his eyes.

"Sir, what about Nott?" Harry asked the Headmaster.

The twinkle disappeared from the old man's eyes just as quickly as it had appeared. He sighed and said: "I regret to tell you that Patroclus Nott escaped capture and as it wasn't his manor house there is no evidence to convict him of involvement".

Harry and Draco were outraged as was Molly but before they could speak Lucy had jumped in "but James's memory of their imprisonment and the memories of the others, that should be enough!".

Again Dumbledore sighed "alas if it was an ordinary witch or wizard then it would most likely be but in the case of Patroclus Nott he has high ranking friends at the Ministry in his pocket including Cornelius Fudge".

"Fudge? isn't he the Head of Magical Accidents?" Janice asked in confusion. She couldn't see how he could be influential.

"He was my dear Janice but he was promoted recently to the post of Magical Transportation which makes him a major department head".

"Why would Bones promote him?" Lucy asked in astonishment. It was no secret that Bones couldn't stand the idiot.

"He has friends on the Wizengamot making him a threat and meaning she must appease him" Dumbledore informed them.

"So what you are saying is that Nott walks free?" Lucy said in outrage.

"I'm afraid so my dear Lucy" Dumbledore agreed gravely.

"He can't, he's a criminal, he can' just get away with it!" Harry protested loudly.

"My dear boy there is nothing we can do" Dumbledore responded regretfully.

Harry stormed off followed closely by Draco, Molly and their friends.

Harry now had only one thought in his mind. If he couldn't make Nott Sr pay then Theodore would have to do. Harry wanted revenge.

* * *

By the time James, Sirius, Remus and Peter had been released from St Mungo's Harry and the others had already returned to Hogwarts for the new term.

As James entered the drawing-room of the manor he found a worried Lucy staring at the wall seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

"Penny for them" James said sitting down next to her.

"hm?" Lucy responded. She turned to James and jumped "James when did you get here?" she asked as she tried to calm her heart which was now banging away like a drum.

"You must have been far away" James said.

Lucy nodded distractedly.

"What're you thinking about?" he asked in concern.

Lucy inhaled deeply and said "I'm worried about Harry".

James frowned "what about Harry, he seemed alright when he visited us at St Mungo's".

Lucy waved that away in exasperation "do you see, that was all an act!, he's angry James, very angry and I'm worried he could do something stupid".

James turned white "you don't think..." he began. Lucy nodded seriously and James gulped. He had learned from his own school days that violence solved nothing compared to talking and he didn't want Harry to be like he had been.

Just at that moment there was a loud crackling noise and they noticed the flames in the fireplace turn green. The face of Albus Dumbledore had appeared "James, Lucy, I need to speak with you at once, please come along as soon as you can" the old wizard said seriously.

Once the face had vanished they turned to each other "this can't be good" James said in concern as Lucy could only nod.

They went over to the fireplace took some floo powder and after saying their destination disappeared.

* * *

Harry knew what he'd done was stupid, it was wrong, Nott was a git but he hadn't kidnapped his father and uncles.

Harry had just been so consumed with hatred for Nott's family and when Nott began to make snide remarks about people not being careful and Potters making mistakes Harry had just snapped. After the way Nott had treated him and what Nott's father had done he had been pushed over the edge.

He was at this moment waiting nervous in a seat in the Headmasters office alongside Draco who looked like he thought Harry was a total idiot.

Draco had tried to stop him but it had taken several students to pull Harry away.

The flames in the Headmasters fireplace turned green and his mother and father stepped out.

Harry closed his eyes anticipating the shouting and the angry words but none came. When he opened his eyes he saw his parents looking at him in concern and disappointment.

Nott who was next to him with his father looking as haughty as ever smirked at Harry. Harry for his part kept his face averted and fixed on the floor.

"Ah James, Lucy, good of you to come" Dumbledore said seriously "I think first I should explain what I have heard from both Mr Potter and Mr Nott and then we shall examine the students memories".

James and Lucy nodded and sat down in chairs on the other side of the desk.

"Mr Nott will you not sit down" Dumbledore offered the wealthy wizard.

"No thank Dumbledore I prefer to stand" Mr Nott answered coldly as he surveyed James and Lucy with distaste.

As Dumbledore recounted both what Harry had told him and what Nott had told him their faces remained impassive. Expressionless (with great effort). Inside however they couldn't believe how foolish Harry had been.

The three adults then made their way over to the pensieve. Despite the need to be neutral even Dumbledore didn't seem to believe that what was in Nott's head was the truth. As the memory showed Harry supposedly cornering Nott and bullying him with taunts and threats to attack him with no provocation.

The memory itself had a distinct blur around it and parts appeared distorted. James knew tampering when he saw it.

"What do you think?" Dumbledore asked James and Lucy already knowing the answer.

"We'll look at Harry's memory but I think young Nott is lying" James said with certainty.

"How dare you call my son a liar he has told the truth and was attacked by your thug of a son".

James made a move towards Nott Sr only for Lucy to hold him back. He looked into her eyes and saw her shake her head once. A clear signal for 'he's not worth it'.

James nodded back and said nothing.

Nott's memory was removed from the pensieve and replaced by Harry's.

James, Lucy and Dumbledore stepped forward and found themselves pulled into the memory.

When they landed they found themselves Standing . They watched as Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione walked through the central courtyard and passed the large oak in the middle.

"I'm telling you guys I actually had fun in History of Magic" Ron was saying. Harry, Draco and Neville laughed while Hermione made an irritated noise.

"Only because you were playing exploding snap with Neville" Hermione said with disapproval.

"Well yeah, there is that" Ron replied with a grin.

"Well you needn't think you're copying my notes" Hermione said snappily. "Any of you", she added as she looked at Neville who grinned too "especially you Harry" Hermione shook her head "honestly!, falling asleep in class!".

"Oh come on Mione that was Wood's fault!" Harry protested.

"I doubt Wood made you polish your broom all night" Neville said chuckling. Harry slapped him on the back of the head.

"No" Harry replied "but we were practising until gone nine and then I had to do homework".

"Well I did say to do it on Saturday" Hermione put in in her usual I told you so tone of voice.

They were so engrossed in their banter that they didn't notice the three Slytherins approach them "well if isn't Little Harry Potthead" Nott smirked.

The three wizards watched as Harry made a visible effort to control his temper.

"I haven't got time for you Nott, not today" Harry said wearily as he made to move past the other boy.

As he passed him Nott asked almost casually "how are your Father and Uncles doing? I heard something happened to them".

Harry froze and turned around. Nott was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"What do you mean by that remark?" asked Harry calmly.

"I just happened to hear that they were kidnapped is all" Nott replied. Harry's face remained impassive as Nott continued in a falsely sympathetic tone "I do hope they didn't suffer".

"You should know Nott since your psycho of a Father was the one who kidnapped them!" Harry shouted.

Nott's smirk grew bigger "prove it Potthead, if you can".

Harry took a deep breath "I will someday Nott you can count on it".

Harry turned away but Nott just wouldn't let it go "what's the matter Potthead, embarrassed that your heroes are mediocre? how would your filthy Mudblood Mother..." Nott had no chance to finish his insult as Harry swung round and his fist connected with Nott's nose.

Nott fell backwards in surprise as blood spilled from the now broke appendage. Harry wasn't done however as he leapt at Nott and began wailing on him with punches.

"Harry stop!" Draco shouted and ran forward with Neville, Ron and Fred and George who had been watching from afar.

Crabbe and Goyle moved forward to intervene, their wands out. They were cut off by Hermione who threatened them with a boil hex if they so much as thought about firing a spell.

"Get off me!, he deserves this!" Harry yelled as his friends and brother tried to pull him away. They finally succeeded. Harry stood, his hair tousled and fury written on his features as he glared at Nott who was now sporting a black eye along with his broken nose.

The smirk was gone from Nott's face as he stared at Harry and held a hand to his nose.

Without warning Harry whipped his wand from it's holster and aimed it at his nemesis. His friends moved forward to stop him "don't worry I'm not going to do anything...this time" he said in a menacingly quiet voice.

"Don't you ever speak about my family again, especially not my Mother you slimeball, if you say one more thing about any of them I will use this and you don't want that".

Harry put his wand back in it's holster and made to walk away only for a voice to cut through the courtyard "Mr Potter!".

That is when the memory ended.

James, Lucy and Dumbledore returned to the Headmasters office.

"Well I stand by what I have said after viewing that" James looked Nott Sr and if looks could kill then Nott Sr would have dropped dead "my son was provoked by young Nott there, he shouldn't have attacked him but he had a good reason".

"Well then I think it best to weigh in with my decision" Dumbledore said surveying Nott and Harry. "I have decided that Mr Potter shall serve a detention with Professor Quirrell for his actions in attacking Mr Nott.

"That is hardly sufficient..." began Nott Sr. Dumbledore however, was not done. "In addition I feel that Mr Nott should serve a detention with Professor McGonagall for his actions in goading Mr Potter, both students showed a lack of judgement and I would hope..." he looked at Harry "will exercise better judgement in the future".

"This is not good enough Dumbledore" Nott Sr said angrily "I will be bringing the matter up with the board". Dumbledore smiled broadly "I look forward to it Mr Nott, good day".

Nott Sr stormed out followed by his son.

James knelt down next to Harry "you need to be more careful you know" Harry looked ashamed "I know I shouldn't have hit him".

"Not just because of that Harry" Harry looked at him in surprise "of course we're disappointed you did that, but the main reason is because...well, you know what Nott Sr is". Harry nodded "well just be more careful is all I'm saying" James told his son seriously.

* * *

Back at Nott Manor Patroclus Nott sat in his winged armchair by the fireplace brooding over the incident involving his son and the Potter brat.

As he sipped his wine he pondered over how best to get revenge on not just the Potters but also that old fool Dumbledore.

"There might just be a way" he said out loud as a cold calculating smile grew across his face.

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed this one. Just a reminded reviews are much appreciated. The next chapter will finish off First Year. P.S. sorry the chapter is longer than usual.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe & all characters save for the one's I created called Lucy, Janice, David, Molly & Celia belong to JK Rowling who I am very grateful to.

* * *

Hey readers. This chapter marks the end of the New Marauders first year at Hogwarts.

* * *

Chapter Eight: Reconciliation & The Philosophers Stone

It had been six months since the horrifying kidnap ordeal that was inflicted on the Marauders. And since Harry's fight with Theodore Nott things had largely quietened down.

For one Marauder however the last six months had been desperately depressing. Peter Pettigrew was only eating enough not to starve and was drinking heavily.

So morose over the incident with Celia was he that he rarely rose from his bed except for food or go to the toilet. Remus had had to get help from Lucy on a part time basis to run the shop.

Everyone had tried their best to cheer him up. James, Sirius and Remus by playing pranks on people, Harry and others by cracking jokes but nothing worked.

After what had happened with Celia Peter just didn't feel like there was any point to life anymore.

What was worse than her having been a Deatheater you may ask. Simply put that ever since he had finished with her she had taken to calling at the Manor. Sending owls and firecalling in a desperate effort to explain things to him.

He had torn up the letters and burnt them and when she called at the Manor or by firecall he simply refused to see her.

There was one issue with this approach however. Peter Pettigrew was in love and not seeing or speaking to Celia despite all she had done was killing him inside.

It was now the 1st of June and Peter currently lay sprawled across his bed in exactly the same position in which he had collapsed the night before after a heavy night of drinking.

He heard the door open and footsteps moving towards his bed. The next moment... "argh!, what...the...". Peter fell off of the bed with a thump and sprang to his feet. An action which he deeply regretted as the next moment he was overcome with a wave of sickness.

He had never been able to handle his drink.

He fell back on to his bed and as the nausea and dizziness began to subside he noticed something very odd.

"Why are my clothes wet?" he said in confusion. His voice scratchy.

"That would be from the bucket of water I just dumped on your head" a voice to Peters left answered brightly.

Peter snapped his head up and scowled as he saw James standing near him grinning madly.

"What the hell was that for Prongs?" he asked sharply.

Suddenly the curtains were yanked open and bright sunlight beamed into the room "argh!, close the damn curtains!" Peter said irritably, covering his eyes.

"Not a chance Wormy old buddy" Sirius replied cheerfully.

"This is what we can an intervention" answered Remus as he thrust a cup of tea into Peters hands "drink it all up, there's a good little Wormy!" he teased.

Wormtail groaned and began reluctantly to drink. As the hot liquid slipped down his scratchy and parched throat he began to feel better.

His throat was less sore, his headache was subsiding and his nausea was almost gone. He looked at Remus quizzically "Pepper Up Potion" his friend informed him.

Peter nodded in gratitude and finished drinking it.

He set the empty cup on his bedside table and surveyed his three friends "I don't need an intervention, I'm fine" he said "but thanks for the drink Moony" he added.

"You're welcome Wormy but you are wrong, you do need an intervention" Remus said.

"He's right old buddy" said Sirius "you've been moping around for six months, you've stopped going to work, you ignore Molly, David and the rest of us".

Peter began to argue but James shut him up "you've been drinking heavily and you almost never drink Pete".

"He's right Wormy look at you" Remus said.

"I don't know what you're all talking about I am fine!" Peter insisted stubbornly.

"Oh really" Sirius cut in sarcastically.

He went into the bathroom and seized up the small mirror Peter kept on a worktop. Returning moments later he thrust the mirror into Peters hands and said with no trace of humour now: "look at yourself".

"I'm not in the mood for..."

"I said look at yourself!" Sirius shouted.

Peter jumped and did as he was bid. He did not like what he saw looking back at him. His hair was sticking out all over the place, he ran a hand over his chin. There was a thick unkempt beard covering it. A beard which had bits of food and dried liquid stuck to it. 'I look like a birds nest' he thought sardonically.

He moved the mirror down and noted his clothing which was filthy and had clearly not been washed in ages.

He put the mirror down and wept.

"You're all right, all three of you" he sobbed hysterically "I'm a mess!, a bloody mess!".

Remus and Sirius sat down on the bed next to him and each put a hand on his shoulder and rubbed his back to comfort him.

"The main thing is that you've realised it Pete" James said wisely.

Peter sniffed and looked at his friend "what do I do Prongs?".

James sighed "given the reason for your depressed state I think it's obvious what you need to do" he replied "you need to talk to her Pete".

Peter had no need to ask James just who he meant by "her" as there was only one woman who he'd been solidly ignoring for six months.

"But I wouldn't know what to say, I...don't know if I can trust her" he said miserably.

"Look Pete" Sirius began and Peter turned to face him in surprise. Sirius rarely gave advice on anything unless it involved Quidditch or pranking.

"Just go and talk to her Pete, somewhere neutral, hear her out and if you still don't think you can trust her then walk away and never see her again, it's that simple old buddy".

Peter nodded thoughtfully as he took this advice in.

"One of us can come with you if you want" offered Remus.

"Yeah, make sure your safe and everything" James agreed with a smile.

Peter grinned and looked around at his friends...no they weren't friends...they were his brothers.

"I love you guys" he said softly.

"Oh come on Peter your gonna make us blush Remus said laughing.

Peter, Sirius and Remus stood up and the four of them hugged. They stayed like that for a while and when they broke apart James initiated the chant "once a Marauder..."

"ALWAYS A MARAUDER!" the others finished off and the group broke into laughter.

* * *

Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione walked out of the exam hall. Once they were a safe distance away...

"Finally over" Harry said in relief.

"We're free!" shouted Neville.

"Glad that's over" put in Ron.

"I can't believe Binns is the examiner too, don't know how I stayed awake" Draco commented with a sour expression.

"Well personally I thought it was fine" said Hermione.

The boys rolled their eyes. Given that Hermione was the top witch in their year it was no surprise that she felt the exam very easy.

"Hermione you'd find being Minister of Magic easy so it's no surprise you had no problems" Harry commented and the others laughed.

Hermione blushed at this.

They were walking past what they thought to be an empty classroom when they heard a voice from within. "Hey, guys, shh" Harry said as he pressed his ear to the door.

"But master, are you sure we're ready, do you think we'll really get the stone?" asked a nervous voice. Quirrells voice with...no trace of a stutter.

"Harry what is it?" whispered Ron. Harry waved him away impatient to hear more. So Quirrell was working for someone and that someone wanted the stone.

Harry knew why of course. He'd read up on the Philosophers Stone and knew it's powers but he had assumed Quirrell was trying to get it for himself either to sell or use.

He listened harder.

"Of course Master I'm...I'm sorry I doubted you" Quirrell said "when are we to do it?".

Harry listened but could hear no other voice. 'Perhaps he's mad' thought Harry in confusion.

"Tonight at midnight, I see, I will not fail you Master, I promise on my life".

Harry heard footsteps from within the room and in moved away from the door swiftly.

"Harry what..." Neville began.

"Not now" said Draco having read Harry's mind.

The brothers led their friends away from the empty classroom and down another corridor.

The five of them walked for what seemed an eternity before they found themselves down by the black lake.

"Harry will you tell us what that was about!" Hermione said in frustration.

"I heard Quirrell, he was talking to someone" Harry told them.

"Who was it?" asked Ron in interest.

Harry shook his head "no idea, the odd thing was Quirrell was talking like he was having a conversation with someone but I didn't hear another voice".

"Maybe he's gone crackers" Neville said unhelpfully.

"No, Nev, I don't think that's it" replied Harry.

"Maybe it was a charm of some kind" said Hermione book smart as ever "or perhaps a device that ensures only Quirrell could hear him".

"What were they talking about?" asked Neville.

Harry explained to them what he had overheard.

Hermione gasped and Draco who knew all this from his mental link was looking thoughtful "it explains a lot" he said when Harry had finished speaking.

Everyone turned to look at him and waited for him to continue "it's obvious don't you see!" he said "Quirrell is a good wizard but he doesn't have the guts to to this sort of thing for himself".

Hermione instantly picked up on Draco's point "so what your saying is that he's always been working for this Master whoever it is and they're using him because he's got access to all areas".

"Precisely" said Draco grimly "Quirrell being a teacher can go anywhere at any time of day or night meaning that he has a better chance of stealing the stone than if this Master tried to do it himself or used someone else".

"We've got to stop him that stone is too dangerous to be in the wrong hands" Harry said decisively.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'll head after Quirrell tonight and confront him in the third floor corridor" Harry said without even discussing it.

The other New Marauders crossed their arms and glared at him "look guys I'm not going to let you all get in trouble too" he said imploringly.

"Harry some things are worth getting in trouble for" Hermione stated firmly.

The boys looked at her in shock. She liked pranks but was generally speaking the most sensible of the group and didn't like breaking rules unless a prank called for it and only then if it didn't hurt anybody.

"What?" she asked in bemusement. "Oh I get it" she said and then added "I'm not miss goody two shoes all the time you know, what about that prank I devised last week?".

Everyone grinned at the memory of it.

"Anyway Hermione's right Harry" said Ron "I'm one of your oldest friends and I'm not letting you face danger alone".

"Me either" Neville declared, "I've been your friend for as long as I can remember, we've been through too much together for me to let you get killed in only your first year".

Harry looked at Draco who said simply "read my mind but I think you know what I'm going to do anyway".

Harry threw his hands up in the air in exasperation and said "alright fine, I give up, I should never bother arguing with your four should I?".

"No!" the others answered as one.

* * *

Five Hundred and Sixty Eight miles away in London, a certain fair haired blue eyed wizard named Peter Pettigrew oblivious to the dangerous scheme his nephews were cooking up, was sitting in a booth inside the Leaky Cauldron pub.

To say he was nervous would be a massive understatement. His stomach felt like a batch of nifflers were burrowing through him looking for treasure.

A thousand doubts beset him. Should he be meeting Celia at all?. What would he say to her?. Most important of all, could her trust her?.

He had a drink of pumpkin juice in front of him. He had smelt some vodka being poured out by Old Tom and feeling physically ill had decided to avoid drink.

On balance he felt it to be a good decision due to his need to keep a clear head for what Celia would say.

He felt rather self conscious being so well dressed as he was in a grey suit with well polished black shoes. Many of the wizards and witches who were in robes of varying kinds were looking at him oddly.

He glanced behind him and saw Remus sitting a few tables away. Remus spotted him, flashed a thumbs up and tapped his wand.

Peter looked at another table and saw Sirius there keeping a keen eye out for anything suspicious.

At seven pm on the dot Peter heard the door from the Muggle side of the Leaky Cauldron open. He turned his head and saw Celia enter.

She was wearing a simple orange skirt with a matching orange blouse and jacket over it, she had her hair tied back in a bun. He watched as she surveyed the pub anxiously.

She soon spotted him and picked her way through the rows of tables to where he was sitting.

As she reached the table Peter stood up.

"Peter" she said, happiness and relief evident on her face "I wasn't sure you'd actually be here after...well after everything".

They sat down, "what you did really hurt me Celia, I was in love with you..." he sighed again and said "I still am, I never gave you a chance to say your peace so I figured you deserve that chance".

Celia looked so grateful as she flashed that brilliant smile of hers that Peter felt glad he'd made this choice.

"Thank you for giving me the chance to explain..." she looked shy about what she was about to say "and for what it's worth I loved you as well and I still do".

Celia ordered a butter beer and once this was drank she took a deep breath "I'm not sure you'll believe what I'm about to say and I wouldn't blame you that's why to accompany my explanation I have evidence".

Celia reached a hand into her jacket pocket and fished out a vial inside of which swirled a pale white substance that Peter recognised as memory.

Celia handed Peter the vial which he slipped into a pocket of his suit jacket and turned his attention back to her.

"It all began in November last year..." she filled him in on everything.

When she'd finished speaking she wiped away tears that had fallen and ran down onto her cheeks.

Peter sat in shock. He knew it could still be a trick, a ruse to get him to trust her again but something within him told him she was being genuine.

"They really kidnapped your father?" he asked quietly.

Celia still overcome with emotion could only nod her head in response.

Peter shook his head. He was in shock. When he had agreed to meet Celia, he had no idea that this would be the explanation for it all.

He'd imagined that she had a lust for power or perhaps had wanted revenge and so had become a Deatheater.

"I want to watch the memory before I'm convinced" he said after thinking for a moment.

Again Celia just nodded.

"Come on then, I'll take you to Hogwarts, Dumbledore should be there and I know he'd let me use his pensieve".

The two of them stood up and walked over to the bar. Once Peter had paid for the drinks they used the fireplace to floo to Dumbledore's office.

As they arrived they found no one was there and Peter realised that dinner must still be on in the Great Hall.

He was about to lead the way to the pensieve when Celia spoke: "your friends were in the pub watching us" she said, her tone of voice was not accusatory it was appreciative.

Peter turned around and said "I didn't want to take any risks, I still don't so...I need your wand for now".

Celia nodded in understanding and reaching into her jacket took out her wand and handed it to Peter who pocketed it.

They walked over to the pensieve with Celia in the lead. Peter removed the stopper from the vial and poured the silvery white liquid into the basin. The water changed colour as the memory began to form up.

Celia entered the memory first with Peter close behind.

Peter landed with a thud on solid ground. Looking around him he could see they were in a Manor House.

He saw a woman that had to be Celia as she had no sisters only brothers. The younger Celia was standing outside a door listening to a conversation from within.

The conversation was loud and sounded like two men arguing.

"You would be wise to join us, the Dark Lord is most generous to his followers" said a voice that Peter recognised as Bellatrix Lestrange of Voldemorts most avid supporters and Sirius' cousin.

"I don't care about power and I'm already wealthy so there is nothing that he can offer me, now I would like you to leave my house" came the the defiant response.

The door opened "you'll regret this Lord Foss, I promise you that" Bellatrix said malevolently.

A man exited the room after her and said "whether I regret it or at least I know I've done the right thing, I will never join that maniac".

Bellatrix laughed coldly and before she left threw a glance at the younger Celia appraising her.

The scene shifted to a different memory.

Celia and her Father were sitting at a dining table next to each other eating dinner and chatting happily "I've raised Tapper's wages again" Celia's Father said casually as he chewed on his steak.

Celia smiled happily "if only more families were like ours Dad".

Peter noticed that as Celia's Father beamed a smile back at her younger self she began to tear up. Peter was just about to ask why this memory was significant when an almighty explosion rent the air and the Manor's wards began blaring noisily.

Celia's Father whipped his wand out and stood up, his expression grim.

"Tapper!" he called out.

A House Elf wearing resplendent uniform appeared with a pop "you called Master Foss" the old elf said.

"Tapper take my daughter away from here, there are men here who mean to do me harm".

The House Elf was just about to take Celia with him when...

"Petrificus Totalis!" roared a voice from the doorway.

Tapper fell down rigid as a board.

Peter watched alongside Celia as the battle unfolded before their eyes. Two Deatheaters appeared in the doorway and were incapacitated.

A third Deatheater appeared and was hit with a blasting hex, smashed into a cabinet and moved no more.

The numbers began to catch up with Lord Foss however.

It was as he was battling two other Deatheaters that one of them shouted "Expeliarmus!" and his wand sailed away into the Deatheaters outstretched hand.

"Crucio!", bellowed a tall slim Deatheater.

Lord Foss fell to the ground writhing in pain.

He was grabbed roughly by two Deatheaters who hauled him to his feet and bound him with ropes from their wands.

"Now Lord Foss, you are coming with us", said a cold voice.

Celia had attempted to run but been captured by the most terrifying man Peter had ever seen. Fenrir Greyback.

Greyback was looking at her as if she was food.

"No Greyback!" said the cold voice sharply "bring her over here and leave".

Greyback hesitated but shoved her roughly over to the man. The other man took Celia's wand and said "now Miss Foss, I believe it time we had a little chat".

Peter had never felt so angry towards anyone before except Voldemort and Mundungus Fletcher.

"What do you want!?" Celia spat angrily.

"You my dear Celia are to become friendly with a group of wizards and one in particular, Peter Pettigrew, you shall do everything to be in a relationship with him and deliver he and his friends to me".

"And why would I do that!" she said hotly.

The cruel wizard laughed "because Miss Foss, if you don't do it then I shall kill your poor dear father...after torturing him of course" he replied almost casually.

Tears began to form in Celia's eyes. She knew she would hate herself for this but she had to do it. Her father meant everything to her.

Blinking back the tears she said in a small voice that trembled with emotion: "alright I'll do it".

"Good girl" he handed her a piece of parchment "when you have made contact meet me here, memorise the location then destroy the parchment".

He was about to leave but before he did he added: "and don't even think of telling anyone else". He then disapparated leaving a shattered Celia behind.

When they exited the memory Peter saw Celia collapse into a chair sobbing hard. He was very shaken by the memory but he was determined.

He knelt down in front of Celia and cupped her face in his hands. "Celia", she didn't respond "Celia darling". This time Celia looked up. There were tear tracks on her cheeks and her eyes were red from crying.

"Now you know everything" she said sniffling.

"Yes I do" he grabbed her hand "and I promise you Celia we will find your father, they won't get away with this" Peter seemed embarrassed "I'm sorry for not hearing you out before, I don't blame you for what happened on New Years Eve" he said smiling.

She smiled back and her grasped her in a warm embrace. They kissed and Peter felt things were starting to get better.

* * *

That night just before midnight the five New Marauders slipped out of the portrait hole and made their way retracing their steps from memory up to the third floor corridor.

"Wait!" Harry shouted when they were nearly there.

Nearing their position was Professor McGonagall together with the Head Boy. The two of them were obviously doing the rounds to make sure no one got in.

'Shame they were here earlier' Harry thought bitterly.

As Teacher and Student rounded the corner Harry gave the thumbs up and all five of them continued their journey.

They reached the door to the room where Fluffy was being held without too much incident.

"Alohamora" Hermione whispered and the door creaked open.

The five of them had their wands at the ready remembering the last time they'd been here and the large three headed dog they had met.

They needn't have worried on this however as when they entered the room they found the large dog fast asleep and a flute discarded next to it.

"Is it dead?" Ron asked warily.

Harry shook his head "no just sleeping, Quirrell must have got here first".

"Damn" said Neville in disappointment.

The five of them walked over to the trap door.

"This must be the way down" Draco said as he and Ron hauled it open.

Harry looked at it for a second and then at the others "I'll jump down first and see if it's safe, if it is then you lot follow on, ok?".

He received nods in the affirmative from the others and after taking a deep breath and pocketing his wand he leapt into the unknown.

* * *

James was enjoying a nice glass of firewhiskey in the drawing-room when...

"Oh god, Minerva do you know what time it is!".

"I'm sorry James".

"I spilt my drink everywhere, what could possibly be..."

"Harry and the others aren't in their dormitories, I felt you should know, I have already contacted the Weasleys and the Longbottoms while Hagrid has gone to speak to the Grangers with Professor Flitwick".

"We'll be there soon" James assure her.

After she had exited the fire James snapped into action.

He headed into the kitchen.

"Hey honey, what's up?" Lucy asked as she took in the air of tension that hung about him.

"Harry and the others aren't in their dormitories!" he said.

Lucy, in shock, dropped the glass she'd been holding. It smashed on the stone floor.

"Reparo" James muttered distractedly and picked it up setting it on the table.

Lucy who had turned white said: "we'd better talk to Sirius and Janice, I'm sure Remus will want to come as well".

The two of them left the kitchen and hurried up the stairs two at a time.

They bumped into Remus as he was exiting his bedroom.

"Hey you two" he said smiling. The smile faltered as he saw their faces "what's happened?" he asked perceptively.

"It's Harry, Draco and their friends, they aren't in their dormitory!" James said in panic.

Remus' face turned even paler than usual "we'd better tell Sirius and Janice" he said.

As they were walking he asked "where's Peter?".

"No idea" said James frowning. He hit upon an idea "hang on, I've got my two way mirror I'll contact him on his" he said.

Lucy and Remus halted for a moment.

James fished through his pockets and extracted the mirror "Wormtail is me James" he said urgently.

He waited for a few moments and then heard a rustling and Peters face was staring back at him "uh, hi Prongs" he said sounding a bit upset.

James picked up on his tone after a moment and said "are you alright Pete?".

Peter looking a bit sick nodded "yeah I'm fine James, fine, it's Celia who's...".

"Celia?, so obviously you believed what she told you then" he said "I like to hear all about it but can you meet us at Hogwarts?".

Peter frowned but nodded "sure, I'm already there actually".

"What...never mind" said James "I'm sure you'll tell me later, me, Sirius and Remus will be there soon, it's Harry and Draco...".

"What's happened?" Peter asked sounding worried "we're not sure Pete but they aren't in their dormitory and neither are the others".

"We're in Dumbledore's office so floo there and I'll speak to McGonagall about it" Peter advised.

"Alright we'll meet you there" James agreed. He broke the connection and said seriously to the others "right, now the hard part".

Reaching the last bedroom door before the stairs James knocked loudly.

"Hang on a minute!" he heard Sirius call.

A second later the door opened "hey guys, what are you doing crowded round our door?" he said surveying them.

"It's Harry, Draco and their friends..."

"What's happened? are they ok? where are they?" Sirius asked frantically.

"Calm down Padfoot, we don't know yet, we know their not in their dorm rooms so we're heading over now to find out, Pete's going to meet us there".

"You want me to calm down when you don't even know where they are?" he asked hysterically.

"Padfoot, we'll find them soon and I'm sure there will be good explanation for everything" Remus cut in.

Sirius glared at him and went back into the room to explain things to Janice.

"What!" they heard her exclaim as he was filling her in.

A moment later Sirius reappeared "Lucy, Janice is staying here to keep an eye on Molly and David, do you..."

"You don't need to ask, of course I'll stay, someone's got to watch Molly to keep her out of trouble" she said smiling.

Sirius smiled gratefully at her and pocketing his wand walked off with Remus and James to the stairs.

"James" Lucy called to him before they left.

"Yes dear?" James said turning round.

"Make sure you find him" she said emotionally.

James nodded and left with the others.

* * *

"Eurgh! what's this?" Ron exclaimed in disgust as he landed with the others on something soft and slimy.

"It's moving!" Draco exclaimed in horror.

"Don't panic everyone it's only Devil's Snare" Neville told them.

"Don't panic!" Harry burst out furiously as he struggled with the snare that was encasing his arms and legs.

"What was it about snare's?" Hermione pondered "something they don't like". Her face lit up "that's it!, Devil's Snare hates sunlight!" she said smiling.

She took out her wand and Neville did the same. Together they muttered some words and a bright light came from their wands. It was as orange as the sun.

Within moments the Snare released them all. Ron fell down last with a thump. As Harry and Draco helped he up he said: "bloody thing!, what's it doing in a school?".

Harry laughed at this causing Ron to glare at him "and just what is so funny Harry?".

"Sorry Ron" he said wiping tears from his eyes "it's just that...well...we're chasing after a teacher who wants immortality for a shadowy master, a giant three headed dog and we're out of bounds and you care more about that plant up there".

After a few seconds Ron laughed, "heh, you're right Harry".

As the five of them walked along the corridor Harry remarked to both Neville and Hermione: "good job guys, lucky you were here".

The pair of them blushed as Ron and Draco added their comments supporting this.

They reached the end of the rather long corridor and pushed open the heavy brown door. As it creaked open they heard a fluttering sound "argh! please don't be bats!" Neville shouted as he covered his eyes with his hands.

"Nev" Harry said.

Someone slapped Neville on the shoulder "what?", he asked not taking his hands away.

"It's not bats Neville" said Hermione, her voice sounded amazed.

"It's...it's not?".

"No Nev, it's...flying keys".

* * *

James, Sirius and Remus arrived in Dumbledore's office where they found him and Celia.

Before they could talk to each other a disgruntled Minerva McGonagall cut in.

"They are nowhere near Gryffindor tower" she said almost accusingly to the Marauders who looked a bit embarrassed.

Severus soon arrived and after greeting them reported: "I've checked the dungeons, the library and the Great Hall, I regret to say they were nowhere to be found, Pomona, Filius and the Prefects have also found no sign of them, Mr Weasley was most worried about his brother".

James's stomach felt as though he'd been Crucio'ed, dumped in the black lake and left there.

He was pretty sure the others felt the same way. Even Professor McGonagall looked worried.

"I'll go with Hagrid and search the Forbidden Forest" Remus offered.

"I'll come with you" said Peter decisively.

After they had gone Severus' face turned white as if he'd seen a ghost.

"Severus? are you ok?" asked Professor McGonagall in concern.

Severus closed his eyes and shook his head. He muttered "I'm a bloody fool, of course he's gone there".

When Severus opened his eyes he found James, Sirius and Minerva looking at him in equal states of bewilderment and annoyance.

"James has Harry said anything to you about the stone and Professor Quirrell?" Severus asked the Head Auror.

James frowned as he tried to think back. Into his head popped the conversation he'd had with his son a few months back about Fluffy and what he was hiding.

"Oh god no" James said softly. He walked over to Dumbledore's desk, knelt down and began banging his head on it.

Sirius rushed over to stop him "christ James stop it!".

"Padfoot, we need to get to the third floor right now" he said urgently to his brother in all but blood.

"Why?" Sirius asked sounding nonplussed.

"Simply put Sirius, Harry, Draco and their friends are in mortal danger" Severus informed him in a voice calmer than how he felt.

"But..." Sirius began. His question died on his lips as he recalled the object being hidden in the school and Dumbledore's fear that someone was trying to steal it.

"There's no time to lose, c'mon!" he said as he hurried for the doors.

James and Severus hurried after him.

The three of them found the corridor without issue. Before James went through the trap door he turned to Severus and said: "there's no need for you to help Sev, it's our kids...".

"Who I consider as practically nephews by now, even if they weren't I have a debt to you and Lily, for well...you know" he finished in embarrassment.

James smiled and hopped through the trap door and into the unknown.

* * *

The New Marauders had easily been able to grab one of the keys thanks to Draco's flying skills and soon found themselves in the most unusual room they'd ever seen.

The floor was a giant chess board with life sized pieces. "I've heard of these but never seen one!" Ron remarked in awe as they looked around.

"What is it?" asked Hermione.

"Life sized Wizards Chess" he informed her. Ron drew in a sharp breath which caused the others to stare at him.

"What is it?" Neville said.

"We're going to have to win to get through the door on the other side" he said them sounding equal parts worried and excited.

Harry and Draco nodded while Hermione looked apprehensive about this.

Ron being the chess genius he was took charge "Harry you take the Bishop on a3, Hermione you'll be the Rook on f8, I'll be the Knight on g5".

"What about us?" Neville asked.

"You two wait and watch, we'll need one of you to look after us if something goes wrong" he said matter of factly.

After they took up their positions the game commenced.

Draco had never seen anything like it before. He'd seen plenty of Wizards Chess games but a life size one was something special.

Eventually they reached the end. Draco had a sense of foreboding which was realised as Harry and Ron began arguing.

"No Ron, I won't let you get hurt!" Harry shouted.

"What is it? what's he going to do?" asked Hermione sounding anxious.

"He's going to sacrifice himself to win" Harry told her.

As Draco and Neville approached the trio they saw Hermione's eyes wet with tears "no Ron you can't!".

Ron's face had gone red and he looked angry "look, do you two want to stop Quirrell or not!?" he demanded.

He turned to Draco and Neville "what about you two?". They were all silent.

"That answers that then" he sighed "I don't want to do this either but keeping the stone away from Quirrell is worth more than my life" he said.

He then ran over to the Knight and commenced his final move "Harry once I've been taken by the King that leaves you free to checkmate him ok?".

Harry nodded reluctantly.

None of them looked as Ron uttered his instruction. Within moments there was an almighty crash.

They opened their eyes and saw Ron lying at the edge of the chess board. He had evidently been flung from his horse.

They hurried over to him all desperately worried.

Hermione was crying. Neville knelt down and listened to his heart. He smiled "he's breathing, just unconscious".

"Someone needs to stay with him" Harry said seriously.

"I'll do it" said Neville. Harry could tell he was torn and was even more grateful for Neville's friendship and his selflessness.

"Try to contact the adults" Draco told him as He, Harry and Hermione exited the room.

* * *

Hi all my readers, just a note to say that this chapter was to be the last of First Year but given it's at over 6 thousands words I am cutting it in half and the final face off and fall out plus probably the summer before Second Year will be in the next chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: Facing Quirrell and End Of Year

The next room contained a table with several potion vials on it.

Draco picked up a piece of parchment and read the words on it aloud: "Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind, two of us will help, whichever you would find, one among us seven will let you move ahead, while the other will move you back instead, two among our number hold only nettle wine, three of us are killers hidden in the line. Choose unless you wish to stay forevermore, to help your choosing we give these clues four; first, however slyly the poison try's to hide you will find some on nettle wines left side, second, different are those which stand at either end, if you would move on then neither is your friend, thirdly, as you see, all are different size, neither dwarf nor giant hold death inside, fourth, the second left and second right are twins once tasted though different at first sight".

"That's a mouthful" Harry remarked with a nervous laugh.

"Well" he said turning to his brother, "you're the Potions expert here Draco, over to you".

Draco said nothing but began quietly checking the vials and humming to himself and he tried to decide.

Eventually he settled on the largest vial and the smallest. He carried both over to Harry and Hermione who were marvelling over his deduction skills.

"Are you positive it's these?" Harry asked.

Draco nodded "no doubt, one of these will take us forward while the other takes us back".

"Hermione you should go back with Draco".

They both began to protest, "I can't watch you two and save the stone!" he shouted.

"Hermione can go, someone needs to get help anyway" Draco said looking firmly to Harry and then Hermione.

Hermione nodded her head though she looked annoyed at being sent back.

"I think it's this one" Draco told her as he handed her the largest vial. Hermione downed the contents and was suddenly gone.

"Well at least we know that was the right one" Harry joked nervously.

"Right, ready?" asked Draco.

"You're not coming, you can stay here" Harry said stubbornly. He wasn't going to let his brother get hurt. It was his destiny to do these things, not his brothers.

"I've already told you you, dollophead, I'm coming with you, you aren't facing Quirrell alone and that's that".

Harry huffed in exasperation "fine!, but if you get hurt then you can explain to Uncle Padfoot that I tried to keep you safe".

"In that case if the same happens to you then I can explain that to Uncle Prongs" Draco grinned evilly.

Harry, grinning, shook his head. The brothers both took a half measure of the potion emptying the vial and found themselves being pulled through the flames. They pushed open the door and entered the next room wondering what they would find now.

What they did find was not just Professor Quirrell but Hagrid the Hogwarts game keeper.

He was standing next to Quirrell and his eyes were blank and unseeing.

Harry and Draco shared a significant look. They recognised the sign of Imperius.

They looked to Quirrell's smirking face "ah boys, so glad you join us, you are just in time to see me get the stone for my Master" he said laughing.

'That stutter cleared up well' Harry thought sarcastically.

"Bind them" Quirrell instructed. Harry and Draco whipped out their wands as Hagrid lumbered over to them.

They were about to use their wands when Quirell said softly: "Expeliarmus". Their wands zoomed away and into the Professor's waiting hand.

Hagrid, still under the Imperius curse bound them using his wand and returned to Quirrell's side.

Quirrell turned back to the mirror "I see the stone, but how do I get it?".

He pondered over it for a while "should I break the glass?".

"Use the boys you fool" came a voice from nowhere.

Harry and Draco looked around in puzzlement.

"Did you hear..."

"Yeah" said Harry.

"Bring them here!" Quirrell snapped.

Hagrid obediently walked over and dragged the two of them to Quirrell's side.

"What have you done to him!?" Harry shouted in outrage.

"Yeah, leave Hagrid out of this!" Draco chipped in.

Quirrell smiled evilly "he got in my way, tried to stop me heading down here and I couldn't have that, so I took over his mind".

Quirrell snorted "wasn't at all difficult" he said contemptuously.

"Hagrid is twice the man you are!" Harry said angrily.

Quirrell ignored this and said "come here!" he grabbed Harry roughly and shoved him in front of the mirror and unbound him

"What do you see?" he asked.

Harry's eyes widened, he knew what he saw but he couldn't say it to Quirrell so he improvised "I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore, we've just won the House Cup".

"He lies" the unseen voice hissed.

"Tell the truth boy!" Quirrell snarled as he pointed his wand at Draco.

"Let me speak with him" the voice said.

"But Master you are not strong enough" Quirrell protested.

"I have strength enough for this".

Quirrell began to unwrap his turban. Once it was fully unwound, revealed on the back of the Professors head was...Harry had no idea how to describe it.

It was hideous.

It was alive!.

"We meet again Harry Potter" the voice hissed. Harry felt a sharp searing pain in his scar. It felt like it was on fire "argh!".

"Harry!" Draco cried out desperately.

"Ah and young Draco Malfoy" the voice said quietly "Lucius would be so disappointed".

"I'm not a Malfoy I'm a Black, Sirius Black is my Dad!" Draco spat defiantly.

Voldemort laughed at this.

"You have the stone boy, I know it" Voldemort said calmly "just give it to me and this all ends".

"No" Harry said calmly "I'm not letting you have it, you'd be unstoppable".

"Would you like to see your Mother again Harry?" Voldemort asked softly.

Harry frowned.

"The image in the mirror changed and Harry saw staring back at him, his Mothers face. Lily Potter was smiling at him.

Harry smiled back for a moment "Harry you can't trust him!" Draco shouted cutting through Harry's thoughts. 'He's right' Harry realised.

Harry turned his face to Voldemort and shouted "you're a liar!, you'd never bring her back! and you're not getting the stone!".

Quick as a flash Harry kicked Quirrell in the shin and while Quirrell was busy howling in pain, he seized his and Draco's wands, muttered "Diffindo", slicing the thick ropes from Draco and throwing his brother his wand.

With razor sharp reflexes he rolled away from the Imperiused Hagrid, reached his Brother and they made a run for it, the stone safely tucked away in Harry's jeans pocket.

As they reached the steps however a solid wall of fire sprung up in front of them. They hung back to avoid being burned.

"Not so fast my young friends" Voldemort said coldly "Quirrell".

"Yes Master?".

"Kill them!".

Severus practically flew across the room to Harry and Draco and began grabbing at them. Draco was pulled away kicking and yelling by the Imperiused Hagrid.

"Diffindo!" Harry shouted and a large slash appeared on Quirrell's nose.

Quirrell cried out in pain and made a grab for him.

At first Harry tried kicking him away and then using spells but Quirrell parried every attack and after Harry left an opening the Professor once again took his wand from him.

Harry tried to run for Draco but Quirrell grabbed his leg and hauled him down. Quirrell made to grab him "get off me!" Harry shouted. He threw up a hand and pushed at Quirrel's face with his palm.

When he removed his hand he noticed something very odd. Quirre'll's face was cracking. For a few seconds he was ok and then he started to sizzle as if he'd been burned "argh!" the man exclaimed in pain.

He reached for Harry again. Harry grabbed at the man's arm and the man screamed.

Harry managed to back away from the Defence teacher who began to crumbled. Quirrell took a few steps, shook his head as if all he had was a headache and finally fell to the floor crumbled into nothing but ash and empty robes.

Harry stood in shock at the empty robes and the ash before him.

"Harry? Draco?" came a confused and disoriented voice nearby. Harry realised that Hagrid was no longer Imperiused and doubtless was wondering what the hell was going on.

"Draco why I am holding you?" Hagrid muttered as he let Draco go.

Harry vaguely heard Draco explaining everything.

"Look out Harry!" Draco shouted. Harry turned around, wondering why Draco sounded so worried, Quirrell was dead after all.

Then he saw it coming towards him. What looked like a gust of wind. He somehow knew however that it was what was left of Voldemort.

Just then the door to the room flew open with a bang and in ran Albus Dumbledore, James, Sirius and Severus.

"Harry!" James shouted as he ran towards his son.

He wasn't quick enough, none of them were. The essence of Voldemort passed through him sending him sprawling unconscious to the ground in swirling blackness.

* * *

"No!", James yelled in despair as he reached Harry and sunk to his knees in front of his son.

He vaguely heard Albus, Severus and Sirius force Voldemort's spirit to leave the room.

"Come James let myself and Severus check on him" the soft voice of Albus said.

Reluctantly and in tears James allowed himself to be guided away by Sirius over to Draco and Hagrid.

He heard Albus and Severus talking "he's alive but unconscious, he'll be fine if we get him to the hospital wing right away" he heard Severus advise.

He watched as Albus conjured a stretcher and still in total shock followed on behind Severus and Albus out of the dungeon.

James was still in shock an hour later as he sat by his son's bedside in the hospital wing. He knew that Harry would be fine. He'd been told so by Madam Pomfrey but even so he couldn't get the image of Harry sprawling unconscious, from his mind.

He had known of course through the prophecy that his son would have to face and defeat Voldemort one day but he had not thought that the two would encounter each other this soon and especially not at Hogwarts of all places.

James had had his fair share of incidents at Hogwarts but he had never dealt with jinxed brooms, evil teachers trying to steal powerful magical objects and fighting Voldemort.

On the whole James felt angry. At first he'd been angry at Harry for putting himself in harms way but that anger had dissipated as he realised that Harry doing something like this was inevitable. Both because of his parents personalities and because of the prophecy.

His anger now was directed at someone who was supposed to keep the school safe, someone who he had trusted with his son's life, someone who should have been there to stop this, the man who had employed Quirrell in the first place. The man who was approaching Harry's bed silently, no trace of humour in his blue eyes.

"Outside, now" James said nodded and followed James out of the hospital wing under the equally angry gazes of Sirius, Peter and Remus.

Once outside Dumbledore put up a silencing charm to prevent sound leaving their area of the corridor.

James turned his furious gaze on Dumbledore. His hazel eyes were as burning coals "how could you let this happen Albus!?" he shouted.

"My boy..."

"Save it Albus, you will hear me out first" he said loudly.

Dumbledore nodded and folded his arms behind his back.

James ran a hand through his messy black hair in frustration "you were supposed to keep him safe Albus, not just him, Draco as well". He gave such a piercing look at Dumbledore that a lesser man would have faltered.

James continued "did you not think to check Quirrell before you hired him or do you just hire anyone for the position these days?".

James began pacing "I told you that the stone should have been kept someone else".

He glared at Dumbledore again and yelled "what the hell were you thinking keeping that stone in a school!".

James continued to shout for a while before burning himself out. Once his bad temper had subsided Dumbledore felt it safe to respond.

"James, I cannot tell you how deeply sorry I am for this incident, I should have been more selective in my choice of teacher and I can promise you such a dangerous object will never be kept in this school again".

James sighed and taking off his glasses ran a hand over his tired eyes. "Apology accepted Albus" he said more calmly "but I can't speak for Lucy when she gets here" he added somewhat mischievously.

Dumbledore shuddered "oh spare me that James, she has a real temper when roused".

James chuckled a little "that she does Albus, that she does and I wouldn't have her any other way".

* * *

Said woman was back at Marauder Manor and along with Janice was about to leave for Hogwarts. They knew David would be safe and cared for in the few hours they would be gone as both Tipper and Dobby would take it in turns to watch over him.

Molly despite being only eight was as strong willed as both her parents and older brother and had absolutely refused to stay behind.

"Come on Molly, we have to get going!" she called up the stairs to her daughter as she waited impatiently in the entrance hall.

Janice coming out of the drawing-room chuckled loudly at this "she takes after her Mum you know that right?".

Lucy mock glared at her "I don't take THAT long!" she said.

They both laughed.

Eventually Molly appeared and the three of them flooed to Hogwarts.

* * *

Draco sat by Harry's bed feeling more miserable than at any time since a certain incident in the summer of eighty eight. That year being when Harry had plummeted from his broom and nearly died.

This felt like that all over again. Harry still lay unconscious in his hospital bed. Madam Pomfrey had assured Draco that he would wake up eventually but she did not know when.

The negative side of Draco's mind kept whispering to him "what if Harry doesn't wake up?". Draco was trying desperately to shut out the voice.

He didn't want to think of a world which Harry wasn't part of. He loved his brother more than anyone. More than his sister Molly and his brother David, more than his parents even.

Ever since he and Harry had been forced to undergo a twinning ceremony by Deatheaters they had a special connection.

It was very rare for Draco not to hear Harry's thoughts or sense his feelings and usually only when Harry was consciously blocking him out.

Right now with Harry being unconscious he could feel nothing. Hear nothing. It was as if Harry was a shell.

"Come back to us Harry, please" Draco whispered tearfully as he held his brothers hand.

* * *

Harry meanwhile was feeling very pleasant at that moment. After what he had gone through with Quirrell and Voldemort he had assumed that he would hurt more.

He could remember clearly how Quirrell's face burned up at his touch and how he began to crumble. He remembered Draco shouting to him and the essence of Voldemort flying through him as it escape the dungeon.

After that it had been a blank until he opened his eyes and woke up here.

Looking around he could see only whiteness. He flicked his eyes down and found himself lying in the most comfortable bed he'd ever been in. More comfortable even than his bed's at Hogwarts and his room in Marauder Manor.

"How are you feeling baby?" he heard a woman's voice ask tenderly.

A broad smile lit his face.

"Mum!" he said happily.

He looked over to his right and saw that, sure enough, she was standing by his bed smiling at him.

"How are you feeling?" she asked again as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm feeling alright thank you" he replied.

He noticed her face turn sad "what is it? why are you sad?". He wondered what he'd said to upset her.

"The only reason you aren't hurting Harry is because you are temporarily in the spirit world".

Harry frowned "so what does that mean?".

Lily sighed "it means sweetie that when you return to your body you will be in quite a lot of pain, no doubt Madam Pomfrey has done well but you will be a week of rest before you are all better".

Harry looked disappointed at this. He knew what Madam Pomfrey was like. She would keep him in the hospital wing bored out of his mind for that whole week as a precaution.

"Now don't be so sulky" Lily said teasingly as she correctly guessed his thoughts "it's for your own good" she hugged him widely.

"I wish we had longer" he said miserably.

Lily smiled sadly again "as do I baby, but you must return, your family and friends are worried about you, listen" she said.

Harry did listen and could hear a voice that sounded far away but just close enough that he could make out what it was saying "come back to us Harry, please".

It was the voice of his brother Draco and he sounded so completely miserable.

Harry turned to face his mother and hugged her tightly "I miss you" he said as the whiteness and his mother began to fade.

"I love you my beautiful boy" he heard his mother say before everything disappeared.

Harry felt a thudding motion and realised that he must be back in his body.

He coughed heavily and opened his eyes. Everything looked blurry and he realised that someone had taken his glasses off.

"Harry!", he heard his overjoyed brother shout.

He felt his glasses being slipped on and his brothers grinning face came into sharp focus.

"Alright, I'm not deaf" he said jokingly.

Draco laughed shakily

Harry realised that Draco was not only shaken by what had happened to him but by his part in events as well as Harry's.

"Are you alright?" he asked his brother mentally.

Draco smiled shakily "I am now" he replied vocally in a whisper.

The brothers hugged each other tightly and stayed like that for long minutes until the doors to the hospital wing opened and Harry heard footsteps. He knew that his Dad and Uncles must be coming over.

As the footsteps reached the bed Harry gazed up. His Dad and Uncles had varying expressions on their faces.

Peter and Sirius were both grinning widely to reassure him while Remus was looking stern. His Dad was white as a sheet and seemed torn between annoyance at his Son and relief that he was alright.

He soon found which won out when after Draco moved, his Dad sat down and grabbed him in a tight but careful hug.

"I was so worried about you kid" he said "when I saw you lying there on the floor I thought you were gone".

Tears rolled down both their cheeks as Harry returned the hug with equal force "I'm fine Dad, I bit battered but I'll live" he muttered into James's jumper.

It was then that Harry heard the shriek he'd been expecting and dreading since waking up "Harry James Potter!" a sharp voice said from the doorway.

Harry groaned and, moving his head from his Dad's chest look over to his Mum. She looked furious with him.

"Hi Mum...uh, how are you?".

His Mum approached the bed "how am I? is that all you can after this foolishness!, you could have died!" she said.

"I'd never have had the chance again to say..." her breath seemed to catch in her throat for a moment and she looked on verge of tears which soon began to fall "the chance to say I love you" she wailed as she flung her arms around him in one of those hugs that only mothers seem capable of.

Harry was a bit startled to say the least but rubbed her back and muttered "I'm alright Mum, I'm alright" to reassure her.

* * *

The day after Quirrell/Voldemort were defeated and the stone saved, Harry and Ron due to their injuries were still recovering the hospital wing and would be until the end of that week.

As a result of this Draco decided to hold his birthday party in the hospital wing which other than Harry and Ron was devoid of patients.

The Twins were there as were of course Hermione and Neville, also present were Percy, Lee Jordan, Oliver Wood and the others on the Quidditch team, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter and Lucy and Janice.

They had been quite loud in their celebrating and Draco had been worried at one point when a food fight began between the Marauders - or more specifically James and Sirius - that the others would be thrown out. But Madam Pomfrey busying herself at the other end of the room folding up sheets and tidying up just threw them a warm smile.

Draco was very surprised by one present he got. It was a long thin packaged wrapped in brown paper. Tearing it off he found the newest British broom being sold, the Nimbus 2001.

"It's a joint present from us, Uncle James, Aunt Lucy and Uncle Peter and Uncle Remus" Sirius explained to his son.

Draco was over the moon with it and gave each adult an ecstatic hug before chatting animatedly with the Harry and the others about it.

Other gifts had included a very welcome broom servicing kit which had been a joint present from Harry and Molly who had grouped together their pocket money, a book on unusual potions from Hermione, a fly eating plant from Neville which he assure Draco wasn't dangerous and various sweets and chocolates from the others.

Mrs and Mrs Weasley gave him a pair of Quidditch gloves and the Longbottoms gave him a goalkeepers helmet.

Overall Draco had an amazing birthday party which only ended at ten that night when Madam Pomfrey insisted that Harry and Ron needed rest and shooed them all out though not before wishing Draco a Happy Birthday.

* * *

Harry and Ron were let out of the hospital wing three days before the Quidditch final in which Gryffindor would once again play Slytherin.

The house cup was worth one hundred points and winning it would give Gryffindor a respectable tally for the year even if Slytherin did still manage to win the House Cup.

When Harry sat on his broom and kicked off it was like he'd never been away. He was as fast as ever and as skilled as ever.

It took Harry just ten minutes to spot the snitch which he caught with ease to give Gryffindor the victory one hundred and sixty points to ten.

Harry was pleased not only that his team had won the House Cup but that they had knocked the smirk off of Theodore Nott's face as the Slytherin stormed away from the stadium trailed by his cronies Crabbe and Goyle.

The end of term feast was to prove a rowdy affair as it usually did at Hogwarts. Harry tried to ignore the sinking feeling he felt as he saw all the green and silver banners hanging from the ceiling indicating that Slytherin had won the House Cup for the seventh year running.

He sat down in between Ron and Draco and they began to eat. Harry didn't feel very hungry that night and ate sparingly. The only things to give him comfort from this school year were the Quidditch Cup which had been hoisted aloft by a jubilant Oliver Wood in the common room a few days ago and the fact that he, his friends and brother had stopped Voldemort from returning at least for now.

Once the food was all gone Harry turned his head to the staff table with everyone else to hear what the Headmaster had to say.

"Well everyone, another year at Hogwarts has come to an end. Before you all retire to your dormitories for your nights rest I believe the House Cup needs awarding.

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw Nott looking very smug as he grinned at Harry and flashed him a thumbs up.

Harry scowled and turned his attention back to Dumbledore. As the House Cup was handed to the Headmaster by Mr Filch the Slytherin table began cheering and whistling and stamping their feet.

"Yes, yes well done Slytherin...however...".

The word however once said caused an electric reaction in the hall. A few faces fell at the Slytherin table and Harry could see his Uncle Sev frowning at the Headmaster in confusion.

"I have a few last minute points to award" Dumbledore's twinkling eyes turned to the Gryffindor table and more specifically the section of table containing a certain five New Marauders.

"First to Mr Ronald Weasley, for the best game of chess Hogwarts has seen these many years, I award ten points".

Ron's face turned an ever greater shade of red.

"To Mr Neville Longbottom, for calmness in a tough situation and for saving his friends certain danger I award ten points".

"Thirdly to Miss Hermione Granger, for excellent Potions knowledge I award ten points".

"And finally to Mr's Black and Potter for saving the Philosophers Stone and foiling a plot by dark wizards I award them each twenty points".

The buzz in the hall was like an inferno. Everyone was talking at once. Harry heard a few pieces of conversation "he did so well, our Mum will be so proud of him" Percy was saying to Oliver Wood.

"Our brother the hero" Fred was saying to George.

"We'll have to do something amazing to beat this" George replied.

Harry found himself grinning widely as he realised that the sixty point gap between Gryffindor and Slytherin had not only been bridged but that Gryffindor were in the lead.

"If my calculations are correct..." Dumbledore began with a smile "a change in decoration is in order". The old wizard clapped his hands once and all of the banners in the hall changed from green and gold with Serpent to scarlet and gold adorned with the Lion of Gryffindor.

"Gryffindor thus wins the House Cup" Dumbledore announced as the whole Gryffindor table rose to their feet cheering, applauding and congratulating Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione.

The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables rose with them. All three houses were happy that at last Slytherin's hold on the House Cup had been broken.

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and was unsurprised to see that only a few, namely Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass had risen to their feet with polite applause while the rest including Theodore Nott were looking sullen with discontent. Harry caught Nott's eye and grinned widely, throwing him a thumbs up as Nott had done to him earlier.

Nott scowled heavily and turned away from Harry.

Someone nudged Harry in the ribs and he turned to see Draco pointing to the Staff Table. Severus Snape was handing the House Cup to Professor McGonagall. He looked disappointed but seemed to be accepting it with good grace as he shook her hand.

The celebration over Gryffindor's first House Cup in eight years was to last well into the night with Harry, Draco and their friends being the toast of the tower.

The Weasley Twins Fred and George together with Percy and Lee Jordan led most of the students in a chorus of for he's a jolly good fellow as the New Marauders were held aloft on people's shoulders.

The party only ended at two in the morning when Professor McGonagall clad in a dressing gown stormed through the portrait hole, explained that she was thrilled with winning too but ordered them all to bed due to the Hogwarts Express leaving the next day.

* * *

After the New Marauders had a quick breakfast in the Great Hall they along with the other students made their way to the carriages and thence to Hogsmeade station for the journey back to London.

On the trip back Harry was silent in thought. Hermione and Ron were playing Wizards Chess as they taught Neville the basics of the game.

Harry had thought Draco was busy reading until he heard a voice in his head "you didn't mean to kill Quirrell Harry and anyway he deserved it, not only did he try to kill you but he was forcing Hagrid to help him and trying to bring Voldemort back, you saved the day and our lives".

Harry looked at his brother and sighed deeply. Through their connection he replied "I've never killed anyone before, I don't like the way it makes me feel even if it was necessary..." a pause and then "anyway I didn't save the day alone, you were there in the chamber with me and the others were nearby".

Harry realised that the others were looking at them.

"What's up guys?" Ron asked them.

Draco gave Harry a pointed look and then explained to the others "Harry feels guilty about killing Quirrell".

Hermione, Ron and Neville all rushed to tell him it wasn't his fault and that he'd saved the day.

Harry felt a little better. As long as his family and friends didn't think less of him then that was all that mattered to him.


	10. Chapter 10

Hello all my readers. This chapter you are reading will go through the summer up to the start of term feast.

* * *

Disclaimer: The Potter Universe belongs to JK Rowling. I am simply borrowing it and the characters for this story.

* * *

Chapter Ten: Harry's Birthday, Meeting Lockhart and The Diary

31st of July 1992

The first month of the summer holidays had flown by. Life at Marauder Manor was much the same as ever. Pranks were being pulled, Quidditch was being played regularly as Harry sharpened his skills for the new school year and Draco and Ron both eager to be on the team practised hard. Ron as a goalkeeper working on his saves and reflexes and Draco polishing his chaser skills as he preferred scoring. Both Ron and Draco were hoping to at least become reserves.

It was now 31st of July. The day of Harry's birthday. Luckily Ron, Neville and Hermione had shown up that morning and together with Draco and Molly had got Harry to head down to the Quidditch pitch.

The adults were in a mad rushing trying to get everything just right for Harry's party that afternoon. There was to be a barbecue in the back garden and a special surprise had been lined up for Harry with help from Hagrid, Molly, Draco, Fred, George and Percy. Both Ron and Neville had run interference by distracting Harry with Wizards Chess, bike rides, exploding snap and Quidditch.

"I think everything's ready" James said smiling as he looked around the garden at the food, presents and decorations and glanced at the large sheet covering Harry's surprise.

"He'll love it honey" Lucy said smiling herself as she stood in front of James, his hands wrapped round her waist.

James turned her around and kissed her deeply on the lips. When they broke apart he said in a breathy voice: "god I love you, you know that?".

Lucy grinned "I did have some idea" she said as she patted her stomach. The bump was not yet visible as she was only two months gone but she was taking care of herself including being more careful at the Ministry.

The final guests had already arrived and included Bill and Charlie Weasley, Ginny Weasley, The Tonks family, Albus Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Celia, Frank and Alice Longbottom and their daughter Anna, Luna Lovegood and her parents.

Professor McGonagall appeared from the bushes and changed back into human form. "Everyone get ready" she said slightly out of breath "they're on the way".

The guests got into position hiding behind or underneath the various forms of cover as Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione appeared in the back garden.

"Wow!" Harry said in amazement.

The garden was decked out with balloons and a large homemade banner that read: "Happy 12th Birthday Harry".

He surveyed the table and saw that all of his favourite foods sat there amongst pitchers of pumpkin juice and orange juice.

Looking over to the right of the large table he saw a pile of presents and was amazed to be getting so many.

"Surprise!" a large number of voices cried as all of the guests sprang out or as in the case of a few such as Mad Eye Moody, Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall walked out, from their hiding places.

James and Sirius led the singing as everyone sang "Happy Birthday".

Once they were done everyone sat down with Harry at the head of the table as he was the birthday boy and enjoyed a wonderful buffet of food.

There were sandwiches, cakes, pies, pasties, chocolates, crisps, meats, cheeses, jelly's and virtually every kind of food one could imagine.

Harry himself tried a bit of everything as he chatted away happily to his friends, family and other guests about topics as varied as Quidditch and Defence Against The Dark Arts which was his favourite subject.

He had just finished a chocolate eclair and wiped his mouth, when a question sprang into his mind and he turned towards Professor Dumbledore who sat nearby.

He had wondered whether he should say anything but then he noticed the Headmaster was looking at him anyway smiling. Harry remembered that the old wizard could read people's minds.

"Professor" he said.

"Yes my boy?" Dumbledore said as he finished his cup of tea and set it back on it's saucer.

"I was just wondering if you've sorted out the Defence teacher position yet" Harry said.

Dumbledore chuckled "I have my eye on someone Harry, I shall say no more for the time being, you shall have to find out for yourself" he said mysteriously.

Internally, Harry groaned 'why does he always have to be so mysterious?' he thought in exasperation.

After the cake and another chorus of Happy Birthday and For He's A Jolly Good Fellow, it was time for the presents.

Though Harry was remaining outwardly calm at the sheer number of presents he was thrilled that so many people had remembered.

For a moment however he felt a bit guilty at having so much when there were children even in Britain who had so little.

He had actually done something about it. When he was five years old he asked his parents if all children got so many presents and was told they didn't.

It had been at that point when he'd decided that he would pick one present a year at random and tell his parents to give it to charity.

Back to the present however Harry reached the pile of presents and with the help of his brother Draco, his friends Ron, Neville and Hermione and his sister Molly, he tore through them all. Paper accumulated to quite a depth on the grassy floor as present after present was opened.

From Severus he received a wand polishing kit, from the Weasley's a broom servicing kit, from Hermione a book on defence techniques, from Neville and the Longbottoms a set of potion ingredients.

Draco gave him a wand holster to make him quicker on the draw. Hagrid gave him a book on dangerous or as Hagrid said exciting creatures.

Finally there was only one present left which surprised Harry as Sirius, Janice, Remus and Peter had not given him anything not that he minded as he was glad to have them there it was just unusual. Still, he put it out of his mind and focused his attention on the final parcel left and stared in amazement at the long thin paper wrapped package.

He read the card "To Harry from Mum, Dad and Molly, happy flying".

Harry swallowed hard not daring to hope. He had been planning on buying a new broomstick by saving up his pocket money.

Harry looked at his parents and sister and tried to speak but found his mouth was too dry "is...is this..." he began. They nodded and grinned widely.

Tearing off the paper with the help of Ron and Draco he gazed lovingly at the broom in front of him.

It looked even more beautiful than the one he had seen in the window of Quality Quidditch supplies the week before.

Unable to speak, he rose to his feet and with tears in his eyes hugged his parents and sister tightly. After a while he got his voice back and said croakily "this is one of the best things I've ever got, thank you".

After that he went off with his brother, sister and friends including Fred, George, Percy, Charlie and Bill to play a game of Quidditch that would last for several hours.

"Harry love it's time to come up to the house for your final present" his mother called from far below him.

Harry looked down at her and frowned. He glanced at his watch and mentally swore. It was eight pm already "coming Mum!" he shouted down and began with the others to descend.

When he and the others had placed the brooms and Quidditch equipment in the shed he walked alongside Lucy back up to the house. "Mum?" he said after a few minutes silence.

"Yes Harry dear?".

"I thought I'd been given all of my presents".

Lucy smiled and shook her head "no Harry love there is one final surprise waiting for you".

They reached the garden and Harry stared before him in wonder at the scene before him "no way!" he exclaimed in excitement.

Lucy laughed at his evident happiness.

"Monty Python and The Holy Grail!, I can't believe it!" he exclaimed again.

Those in the audience including Harry, his Mother and Sister sat down to enjoy the performance. As they got comfortable he realised that his Dad, Uncles and Brother were missing and threw a Quizzical look at Lucy who merely grinned in response.

Eventually the curtain was raised on the stage and out stepped...

"Dad!" Harry exclaimed.

James was dressed exactly as King Arthur from Monty Python Holy Grail and following in his wake as the two of them banged halves of coconuts together was Draco.

James looked directly at his Son, smiled widely and said emotionally "hope you enjoy it Son".

The next hour and a half was one of the most fun times of Harry's young life as he watched the entire film reenacted scene for scene including his favourite scene involving the Black Knight.

By the time it was all over Harry was sure that he'd never laughed so much in his entire life and along with the others in the audience even the most bemused ones, gave the performers a standing ovation and hugged his Dad, Brother and Uncles.

That night as Harry lay on the floor in between Draco and Ron thinking what an amazing family he had there was a knock at the door and James poked his head round the door.

"Just wanted to check you were all doing alright" he said as he carried a tray bearing hot chocolate across the room and set it down next to group of children who took them with words of thanks.

"Well night you lot, have a great time" he said with a smile as he stood up and crossed to the door.

"Hang on Dad" Harry called out as he carefully picked his way over Draco and walked to his Dad.

"Anything the matter?" James asked in concern.

Harry shook his head. He had a tear in his eye "I just wanted to say that you're the best Dad in the world and...I love you" he said as he hugged his Dad tightly.

James, feeling emotional himself, hugged his Son back just as tightly. After a few moments they broke apart and James ruffled his Son's hair affectionately.

Molly came over to say goodnight as well and the three of them hugged again.

Just before James closed the door he turned to them "I'll see you all in the morning and I love you too" he said addressing the last part to Harry and Molly.

* * *

"How are they?" Lucy asked yawning slightly as James closed their bedroom door and slipped under the duvet.

James smiled "they're enjoying themselves immensely".

They cuddled up together, pulled the light cord and began to fall asleep.

The last thought James had before sleep claimed him was to thank whatever being had spared him that night in Godric's Hollow that he was alive to see his Son growing up.

* * *

The first three weeks of August had gone like a flash. And today Harry and Draco were going with their Mum's to Diagon Alley to buy their school supplies.

"Harry James Potter!, Draco Black!, get out here now!", Lucy shouted as she stood near their bedroom doors.

She heard a lot of rustling of covers and then: "ok Mum, give me a minute!" and "ok Aunt Lucy, I'll be out in a second!".

Lucy knew she had no need to worry about Draco as, sure enough, just thirty seconds later his bedroom door opened with a creak and out he stepped dressed in jeans and a t shirt with an owl on it, his blond hair combed and smart.

"Good morning Aunt Lucy" he said with a yawn.

"Morning sweetie" Lucy said kissing him on the forehead.

Draco shuffled past her into the lift yawning all the while.

'I must make those boys go to bed earlier' Lucy thought in amusement as she listened at Harry's door for any sign of life.

As she expected, from within came the sound of loud snoring. 'Right' she thought determinedly 'I'll make you get up Harry James Potter'.

She opened Harry's door, took out her wand and aimed it at her Son. Her face set in a grin worthy of a Marauder.

"Aguamenti", she said calmly and a jet of clear, cold water shot from the tip of her wand and splashed all over her sleeping Son.

The effect was immediate. Harry jolted awake looking very startled, "argh!, what the..." he looked wildly around for the source of the water and his eyes came upon his grinning Mother.

"Oh thank you very much Mum, now I've got wet pyjamas" he said sulkily.

"Don't be so dramatic" Lucy said smiling as she vanished away the water and used a drying charm on his clothes "there, good as new" she said.

Harry threw her an annoyed looked and stalked off to the bathroom "don't I get a good morning?" she asked as he reached the door.

Harry huffed, turned around and muttered "good morning" before slamming the door.

Chuckling to herself Lucy exited the room and headed down for breakfast.

Draco and Molly were already down there buttering some toast and pouring at cereal respectively. Lucy kissed her daughter on the forehead "morning sweetheart".

Molly looked up from her bowl "morning Mum" she said smiling before returning to her breakfast.

Five minutes later a tousle haired and yawning Harry entered the kitchen "morning everyone" he said stifling a yawn with the palm of his hand.

He looked through the cupboards for his favourite cereal cocoa pops and was gratified to see they had some left.

After a few moments and with his mouth full of cereal Harry asked: "where're Dad and Sirius?".

"Harry!, you got cereal all over me!" Molly said indignantly.

Harry poked his tongue out at Molly who pushed him.

"Children play nice" Lucy said wearily before adding "Harry don't talk with your mouthful"

And followed this up with: to answer your question, they had to go into work to sort out an issue involving some of the Aurors, they'll meet us all outside Gringotts".

Harry nodded in satisfaction and went back to his food.

Janice entered the kitchen dressed and ready for the off, three year old David entered by her side clutching her hand tightly.

Harry stood up and walked over to David and picked his little brother up "hey Davy" he said using his nickname "ready for some breakfast?". David laughed and clapped his hands happily.

"Come on then" Harry said as he carried David to his high chair and set in there.

With Draco's help he then fed him.

Janice who had sat down and had just finished off two crumpets with marmite and a cup of strong tea, commented "you two are amazing with him, it's like you just know what he needs and wants".

Harry and Draco both blushed at these comments but had slight smiles on their faces as well.

Harry had a thought "Mum, can we go and see Uncle Moony and Uncle Wormtail at the shop?".

Lucy smiled and replied "I'm sure we'll have enough time for that".

Once the group had finished their lunch they (minus David who Dobby and Tipper would watch) went and took up positions in a queue at the fireplace.

Harry who had travelled by floo many times before took a pinch of floo powder from the bag smirked confidently and threw it down shouting "Diagonally!" only realising a second before the green flames appeared that he had messed up.

The others looked on in confusion and Lucy asked "what did he say?".

"Diagonally" replied Draco, Janice and Molly all at once.

Lucy shook his head "I do hope he'll be alright, we'll look for him once we arrive at the Cauldron".

* * *

"Argh!, oof!". Harry toppled out of a very dirty grate. He made sure nothing was broken or sprained and slowly stood up.

He began to take stock of his surroundings. It wasn't long before he realised, in horror, that he was in a very dark shop.

There were cursed amulets, shrivelled heads, hands with claws for fingers, all manner of weapons and what looked like a vanishing cabinet.

Harry heard movement in the back of the shop. Someone was coming through the doorway near the counter.

In panic, Harry searched around for the door which to his immense relief he found. He bolted for the door, flung it open, ran outside and hurried up the street not looking at anything but the ground.

He bumped into something and looked up to apologise. The apology died on his lips as the most grotesque witch he had ever seen, leered at him "not lost are you my dear? come with me".

She made a grab for him and for a moment all Harry could see was a nasty looking large wart on the bridge of her nose and a set of very yellow teeth.

"Get off me!" he shouted in panic.

"Harry!" came a booming voice from nearby.

The voice distracted the woman allowing Harry to get free. He looked up and saw to his joy, Hagrid, Hogwarts game keeper and a virtual Uncle to him, striding down the steps into the alley he was in.

When Hagrid reached him he said to the witch "you leave this young lad alone or I'll use this on ye" and tapped his wand for added emphasise.

The witch shrunk away enabling Hagrid to guide him out of the alley two a cross section of different alley's.

When they were safely away from the witch Hagrid looked at Harry sternly and said "what do you think you're playing at going down there? it's dangerous and dark is Knockturn alley".

"I ended up there by accident, I was flooing with the others to the Leaky Cauldron and said the wrong word...hang on..." Harry said interrupting his explanation "if it's such a bad place Hagrid, why were you going down there?".

Hagrid answered promptly "flesh eating slug repellent, them slugs are having at all the veg in me veggie patch".

The two of them walked along until they found the entrance to Diagon Alley and Harry heard a voice "Harry thank god!".

he was engulfed in hug by Hermione one of his best friends, then Molly hugged him, Draco punched him on the arm "where were you you prat?" he asked in amusement.

"Tell you all later" he said to them as Neville and his parents approached along with Ron and his family.

Lucy and Janice were just behind.

"Oh Harry thank god you're safe!" Lucy exclaimed in relief as she hugged him "thank you for finding him Hagrid" she said gratefully to the half-giant who blushed "weren't nothin" he said smiling.

"Thanks Hagrid, I didn't like that place" Harry added.

Just at that moment, Harry saw someone that caused him to forget everything else. Ginny was walking towards him.

"Hi Harry" she said.

"Hi" he replied with a smile.

His stomach felt like it was full of butterfly's all trying to escape. He'd heard talk of this feeling before from his parents and other family.

It meant that you had feelings for the person you were talking to and the more Harry thought about it, the more he looked at her lips and her hair and her smile he realised in surprise that he did have feelings for her.

Feelings that were more than just friendship.

Harry wasn't stupid. He knew that he wasn't ready for a relationship at that point and neither was Ginny but in a few years who knew?.

* * *

As they were exiting Gringotts shortly thereafter, James and Sirius approached them "morning everybody, ready for shopping?" James asked cheerfully. His eyes fixed on Harry "uh, Son, why are you covered in soot?" he asked in amusement and confusion.

Harry, feeling embarrassed explained everything to his Dad.

Needless to say James and Sirius laughed heartily at this causing Harry to glare at them in annoyance.

As they were walking side by side to the Apothecary which was the first stop, James said "you know Son, the same thing happened to me when I was your age".

Harry looked at his Dad in surprise "really?", he asked.

James nodded and smiled sheepishly "yep, me and your Grandad were supposed to floo into the Leaky Cauldron, I wanted to try to do it on my own and I got the address wrong".

"Where did you end up?" Harry asked.

James laughed at this "I found myself flooing directly into the Potions shop and knocking half of the jars over".

Harry laughed at this.

"My Dad was not impressed, he paid the shop owner and made me do chores for two months to pay him back".

* * *

With most of their shopping done, the large group containing students and parents headed to Flourish and Blott's for that years text books as well as ink and other necessities "all our defence books are by Gilderoy Lockhart" Harry said to Ron.

Ron just shrugged.

"He or She must be a fan" Draco said sensibly.

Molly, Arthur and James went into the shop with the kids while Sirius, Janice and Lucy decided to wait outside with the rest of the shopping.

The moment they stepped inside Harry noticed the shop was packed full of witches and wizards all looking excited.

"What's going on?" Ron asked as they looked around.

Harry shrugged "beats me".

"Must be a book signing" Hermione chipped in.

They spotted a short slightly pudgy boy coming through the crowd with books in his arms. He was followed by a man of medium height with dark curly hair who was also carrying books and looked faintly annoyed.

"Hey Nev" Harry and the others said in greeting.

"Hi guys" Neville replied.

"Hello Mr Longbottom" Harry said turning to Neville's father.

"What?, oh hello Harry, hello everyone" Mr Longbottom said sounding distracted.

He shuffled off outside.

"What's wrong with your Dad Nev?" Draco asked.

Neville looked embarrassed "Gilderoy Lockharts here doing a book signing" he replied.

Harry closed his eyes and groaned loudly.

"Again?" Ron asked in disbelief "how many bloody books does he have?".

"Ron!" Hermione said in admonishment.

Arthur, Molly and James went up to get the books for everyone and brought them back some time later.

Just as they reached the children there was a lot of cheering and applauding.

The group looked up to the counter area and saw a man with wavy golden hair and a beaming smile come through the curtain.

"Hello everyone, hello!" said Gilderoy Lockhart in his usual insincere manner.

"Please don't notice me again!" Harry said with gritted teeth.

It was a vain hope "bless my soul!, Harry Potter!" came Lockharts cheerful voice.

Harry made to turn and leave but there were too many witches and wizards behind the group and he couldn't get away.

Within moments he felt a hand on his shoulder "Mr Potter, delightful to see you again!, I assume you came in for my new book" he said smugly.

Harry gritted his teeth and didn't reply.

James tried to prevent it but Lockhart managed to guide Harry up to the front of the shop.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, when Mr Potter came in here today he was only planning on buying my new book Magic Me, I am instead giving Mr Potter a complete set of my works including Magical Me free of charge".

The crowd clapped loudly at this.

"Excuse me Mr Lockhart but I already have a set of your books, I bought them today" Harry cut in.

Lockhart looked momentarily annoyed by this but soon plastered his false smile back on "well no matter, I shall be happy to sign them for you".

"That reminds me Ladies and Gentlemen, I, Gilderoy Lockhart am delighted to announce that as of September this year I shall be taking up the post of Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry".

Harry's stomach turned to lead. He can't be, his mind said in denial.

When Harry went back to his friends and family a short time later he was feeling very irritated.

"I bet you loved that Potter" came the familiar drawling voice of Theodore Nott, Harry's nemesis.

"Sod off Nott, I didn't ask for that attention" Harry replied angrily.

"Yeah, leave him alone" Ginny chipped in.

"Oh, looks like Potty Potthead has a girlfriend" Nott said smirking.

"Sod off Nott" Draco hotly as Neville, Ron and Molly glared at their fellow second year.

"What's all this Theodore? not causing a scene I hope" came the crisp voice of Patroclus Nott.

Nott didn't reply merely glaring at Harry and the other New Marauders.

Mr Nott surveyed the group with much distaste "no need to guess who you are" he said to Ron, "tatty second hand books and home made clothes, you must be a Weasley".

Ron growled menacingly as did Fred, George and Percy who had just entered ear shot.

"What's going on here children?" Mr Weasley asked as he reached the group with Molly and James just behind him.

Mr Nott zeroed in on Harry "and this must be young Mr Potter, the so called Boy Who Lived" Mr Nott looked him up and down "you don't look much like a hero to me boy, you and your family will get what's coming to you one day" he said.

"You'll pay for that Nott!" James snarled as he tried to get at Mr Nott only for Molly to convince him to be sensible "you are Head Auror James, you cannot go fighting with people in public".

James calmed down and in the calming down missed a comment thrown at Arthur by Nott.

The next thing anyone knew, Arthur had launched himself at Nott, knocking the large man to the floor. The two men brawled across the floor causing shouts and screams from many people nearby.

"Break it up gents!" came a booming voice "break it up!".

James watched as Hagrid pulled Arthur and Nott away from each other.

In the chaos of the fight, no one noticed as the younger Nott slipped a rather old book into Luna's cauldron while she watched the fight.

* * *

That afternoon as Luna was packing her school books and other items in her trunk ready for the 1st of September, she came across the same old book that had been slipped into her cauldron.

She stroked the cover and looked at it in puzzlement "I don't remember picking you up at Flourish and Blott's" she said aloud.

a thought struck her then "oh, Dad must have bought me a diary" she said smiling.

She placed it carefully in the trunk with her other books.

* * *

The First of September came round very fast.

That morning saw a mad rush to get ready.

People rushed backwards and forwards through the house for last minutes items and eating breakfast.

"Ow!" Harry shouted as he exited his room and stepped on a wooden block.

The mad rush lasted until they reached his Dad's car.

With help from Remus and Peter who were opening up the shop later, James and Sirius piled Harry's, Molly's and Draco's trunks into the boot of the car and they all piled in.

Thankfully it had been magically enhanced by the Marauders to allow for everyone to fit reasonably comfortably.

They were just exiting the Manor grounds when Draco shouted "I've forgotten my chess set!".

They were forced to turn back.

Once that had been got and they set off again Harry shouted out "my wand holsters, I can't go without them!".

They turned back again.

"Hang on!" Molly called out as they were leaving a third time.

"What now!" James shouted in frustration.

"I was just going to say that you forgot to lock up the house" Molly said grinning.

James repeatedly banged his head on the steering wheel and while Sirius, Remus and Peter guffawed loudly Lucy and Janice went back to the Manor and loud all outer doors.

By the time they left it was approaching ten o clock.

"We'll never get there on time" James muttered pessimistically as he swung the car onto the motorway.

"Will you relax James we'll be fine" Lucy reassured her husband.

As it happened, they just made it to the station with minutes to spare.

Harry and Draco were the last two waiting to go through along with Ron.

"Hey Ron", the brothers greeted their friend.

Harry made to move his trolley into position and ran at the wall between platforms nine and ten. CRASH!.

His trolley slammed into the solid wall and bounced back with considerable force. A disgruntled Hedwig squawked in irritation as her cage was thrown to the floor.

Ron picked up her cage, Draco gaped in shock.

"Why didn't the barrier let me through?" Harry asked in surprise.

"Dunno, should have done" Ron said as he placed Hedwigs cage back on his friends trolley.

"Uh, guys, look at the clock" Draco said nodding to the large clock hanging above the platform.

"Oh no!, the train leaves at eleven o clock!, we've missed it!" Harry exclaimed in panic as he looked at the others.

"What do we do?" Ron asked worriedly.

"Simple, we wait by your Dad's car Ron" Draco said sensibly.

This made much sense to both Harry and Ron and so the three boys wheel their trolley's off of the platform and through the station waiting room and outside.

They waited for what seemed like an age before they heard footsteps and shocked voices "boys, what are you doing here?".

They sighed in relief. It was Mr Weasley.

There were more footsteps and Harry could see that Mrs Weasley was there too along with his parents and his Uncle and Aunt.

"We couldn't get through the barrier Dad" Ron said and then launched into a detailed explanation of what had happened.

"Well I'm just glad you three didn't do something reckless like try driving to Scotland" Harry's Dad said in relief.

"We'll take the boys back to the Manor with us and contact Dumbledore to let him know what's happened" Sirius said looking at the boys.

Mr Weasley smiled in gratitude "thank you, Sirius, James" he turned to Ron and hugged his son "I have to be getting to work Ron, I'll see you at Christmas, have a great term" he said smiling.

After Mrs Weasley had given them all bone crushing hugs and wished the three boys a good term, they went back to Marauder Manor with James and Sirius while Lucy and Janice who had said their well wishes headed to work as well.

* * *

"James!" said Dumbledore in surprise as he looked up from his work "is anything wrong?".

James shook his head "not a major problem Albus, it's just that Harry, Ron and Draco were unable to catch the Hogwarts Express, the barrier closed before eleven o clock meaning they missed the train".

Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully. "I see", he said eventually "this is most strange, I give you permission to floo with the boys to my office so that they arrive in good time".

"Thank you Albus that's very kind of you" James said smiling.

"Not a problem my boy, I shall see you soon" he said.

The five of them flooed over with no problems and Harry, Draco and Ron left Dumbledore's office with James and Sirius bringing the luggage with them to Gryffindor Tower.

"You have an awesome term Harry, love you" James said to his son as they stood in the common room.

Father and son hugged and finally James and Sirius departed.

As it was still early afternoon and the Hogwarts Express had not yet arrived, Harry, Draco and Ron settled down to relax in the common room for a few hours with Ron and Draco playing Chess and Harry re-reading the book Catching The Elusive: 1001 Seeker Strategies. It being his favourite book.

Looking at his watch that evening, Harry realised the others would be arriving at the station any minute and headed out down through the castle and across the grounds to the gates.

The three of them did not have to wait long when they reached Hogsmeade Station as soon a shocked voice cut through the air "Harry, Ron, Draco, where were you guys?" it was Neville.

The boys had just finished explaining it all to their highly bemused friend when Hermione appeared.

"Are you three alright, what happened?" she asked in concern.

They explained all to her and at the end she was wearing her customary "we should research this" look.

"Firs Years this way!, firs Years this way!" came a familiar booming voice and Hagrid the Hogwarts game keeper appeared swinging his large lamp in front of him.

"Hagrid!" Harry said happily.

"Ello Arry!, ello Draco!, Ron!, Neville!, Ermione!" he said smiling.

They couldn't stop to chat long but Hagrid just had to time call out to them "tea at my place on Saturday you lot!".

They grinned and promised they'd be there.

Harry and the others being Second Years made their way over to the long line of carriages that took the students up to the castle.

Harry had been told that these were horseless but as he looked he could see row after row of very thin very scary looking creatures saddled up and ready to move off.

"I thought the carriages were supposed to be horseless" he remarked in surprise as he continued to stare.

"They are Harry" Ron replied sounding worried for his friends sanity.

"No, there's horses pulling them, can't you see them?" he said frowning.

The others shook their heads.

It was a very concerned Harry who got into the nearest carriage with the others wondering why he could see them and not the others.

The feast that night progressed much the same as that of last year with the exception of the irritatingly smug Lockhart standing up and bowing for applause.

Harry noted with distaste that Hermione seemed to have a crush on the odious man.

That night as Harry settled in his four poster waiting for sleep to claim him he heard a loud popping sound.

"Woah, what..." he began.

The room was flooded in light and Harry cried out in surprise as a House Elf with large brown eyes and hairy ears stared at him.

"Mr Potter Sir it is an honour" the elf said emotionally.

"How do you know who I am?" Harry asked the elf suspiciously as Draco, Neville and Ron approached the bed while Seamus and Dean watched on.

"Molter has heard much of your greatness young Sir" the elf said bowing "Molter wishes to warn young Master Potter, you must not stay at Hogwarts this year, there is much danger afoot".

Harry frowned in confusion "what danger?".

"A plot Harry Potter, a plot to make most terrible things happen".

"What things and who?" Harry asked, the elf however just shook his head and stopped talking.

"Why don't you sit down and relax" Harry offered pulling out the chair by his bed.

To his surprise the elf began bawling his eyes out "I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you" he said as he cast a confused look at the other boys who shrugged.

"You have not offended me Harry Potter, I am most touched, most wizards would not make such an offer to a House-Elf".

"You can't have met many good wizards then" Harry quipped.

The elf grinned "no, I haven't".

Almost the second he said this, his eyes widened in terror and, seizing Harry's bedside lamp began to hit himself with it.

"No, stop it, Molter, no!" Harry shouted as, with the help of Draco he wrested the lamp away from the elf.

"Now Molter, please tell me what you know" he requested.

The House-Elf however shook his head and disappeared with a loud pop.

"Mental that one" Ron remarked after the elf had disappeared.

Harry laughed shakily and agreed but privately he was concerned. Was the elf being genuine or had he been sent to trick him.

These thoughts and more kept Harry awake long into the night long after his brother and friends snores could be heard throughout the dorm room.

* * *

The next chapter will see Lockharts first lesson, Quidditch try out's and Voices.

What does everyone think to the little changes I made to Harry's original second year start. Please let me know in your reviews.

Much love to all my readers.

P.S. Had to reupload this chapter with a few changes as accidentally had Molly going off to Hogwarts despite not being old enough.


	11. Chapter 11

Their Destiny The Hogwarts Years Chapter Eleven: Lockharts First Lesson, Quidditch Try Outs & The Rogue Bludger

The first few days back at Hogwarts went fast for the New Marauders. Already they had been given homework for Transfiguration and Potions.

On top of this Quidditch practices and team try outs had started already with Wood having waylaid Harry right after the welcoming feast.

Wood had unsurprisingly been thrilled to find out that Harry's parents had purchased him a Nimbus 2001 and that he would be using this for the Quidditch season.

Harry was not surprised to hear from Wood that he had already decided to hold Quidditch try outs on the first Saturday of term.

Wood said this was so they could get a jump on the other teams and begin training right away.

They soon found themselves waiting outside of the Defence classroom for their first lesson with Gilderoy - no, Professor Lockhart (Harry hated thinking about Lockhart being a teacher).

To say Harry wasn't looking forward to the lesson would be a huge understatement.

He had met Gilderoy Lockhart twice before in Flourish and Blotts and neither time had been a good experience for him.

Both times the prat had dragged him up in front of the media to shake his hand and make himself look more popular.

Harry hated the attention he got for being the Boy Who Lived (a nickname he also hated) and had wanted nothing more than to run and hide.

"This class is going to be worse than when Quirrell was teaching" Ron groaned in annoyance.

This sentiment was echoed by the other boys in the class.

Most of the girls however looked scandalised at this and shook their heads or muttered angrily.

"You don't know that Ronald" Hermione said curtly.

Harry snorted.

Hermione glared at him "care to share the joke Harry?" she said hotly.

"Come on Hermione, Lockharts an attention seeker" Neville said, cutting in.

"Nev's right Hermione", added Draco "I bet you anything that his lessons are all about his books and what he's done and not dark creatures or defence".

Hermione huffed "we'll see" she said irritably and for the rest of the time waiting, just stood with her arms folded looking cross.

At nine am precisely, the classroom door flew open and a beaming Lockhart beckoned them in "come in students, come in!".

They Gryffindors and Ravenclaws made their way to their seats. Harry, Draco, Ron and Neville wanted to choose seats nearer the back to keep away from Lockhart but Hermione glaring at them, made them sit on the front row so as to better hear what their Professor was saying.

The boys agreed without too much fuss (Hermione could be scary when angry).

"Good morning class, what a pleasure to see so many happy faces!" Lockhart said, smiling brightly as he surveyed the students.

The boys looked at him with expressions ranging from blankness to surliness while the girls beamed right back at him as if he was the most wonderful person imaginable.

"Now class once I've taken the register I have a little questionnaire for you all" he held up several sheets so everyone could see.

"I bet it's on his books" Ron said. Hermione elbowed him in the ribs while Harry and the others sniggered behind their stack of books.

Lockhart continued "it will be on my book Magical Me and is just a questionnaire to see how many of you know me".

"Told you" Ron said with gritted teeth, again he received a dig in the ribs for this comment.

True to Harry's expectations Lockhart sat behind his desk for the whole lesson reading and paying no attention to his students talking or doing other activities until the quiz had finished.

"Quills down everybody, I shall collect your parchment".

Harry was jolted awake by a hard slap to the head "who...wha...what...pastry?" he mumbled incoherently.

Harry looked over at Hermione who was glaring at him. He noticed that Draco, Ron and Neville were struggling to stifle laughs.

He wiped at his face and found drool at the corners of his mouth. He groaned in embarrassment.

Once the parchment had all been collected, much tutting and sighing could be heard from Professor Lockhart "disappointing, hardly any of you remembered that my favourite colour is lilac and only Miss Granger remembered that my ambition is to bring world peace".

Hermione beamed at this praise throwing death stares at Ron and Neville who mimicked being sick while Harry and Draco unable to help themselves sniggered.

"That was one of the most pointless lessons we've ever had" Draco grumbled as they headed for Potions five minutes later.

Harry grinned "speak for yourself brother mine, I had a fantastic sleep".

Hermione huffed loudly causing the four boys to look at her "honestly Harry" she said, hands on her hips "your ambition is to be an Auror, correct?".

Harry nodded not understanding where she was going with this.

Hermione continued as if she was speaking to a simpleton "well to be an Auror you need top grades in Potions, Charms, Transfiguration and Defence Against The Dark Arts".

"Yeah, so?" Harry replied still not getting it.

Hermione ran a hand through her bushy hair in frustration "so Harry, you need to pay attention in Professor Lockharts classes!" she said in annoyance.

"Come off it Mione" Ron cut in "we're never going to learn anything off Lockhart cept what his favourite colour is".

"Yeah Hermione he's a fraud" Draco said nonchalantly "I bet he hasn't done anything".

"What do you mean!?" Hermione asked angrily.

"He probably made it all up" Neville said adding in his opinion.

Hermione glared at her four friends furiously "you four are just jealous because he's famous" she said hotly.

With that, she stormed off to the Potions classroom and didn't speak to them for the rest of the day not even when they returned to the common room that night.

* * *

The first Saturday of term arrived. Harry woke early that morning. Yawning, he scratched an itch on his stomach, slipped on his glasses and, picking up a towel and clothes - a pair of jeans and a t shirt adorned with the logo of his favourite team the Wimbourne Wasps - he turned from his bed and plodded as quietly as he could over to the bathroom.

Feeling refreshed after his long, hot shower, Harry got dressed and headed back to his bed. He picked up his wand and rummaged about in his trunk.

He soon found the item he was looking for hidden under a stack of chocolate frog cards and prank items, he extracted his beloved Nimbus 2001 from the trunk and after setting his broom on his bed, closed it.

He walked over to the window and stared out at the grounds. It was just getting light. He sighed as he noticed the heavy rain that was lashing down from the heavens.

"Why does it always bloody rain during Quidditch" he lamented. Sighing again, he turned away and took his watch from the table by his bed.

Feeling that he had everything he could possibly need he was about to exit the dorm room when it struck him that, given the weather, he should probably wear a warm jumper and his thick water proof coat.

After foraging through his trunk and picking them out he also had the idea to bring his Quidditch robes with him.

Wood hadn't said anything about needing them but given how obsessive Wood was over Quidditch he was bound to ask later and, Harry thought, if he had the robes with him then he'd avoid that conversation.

* * *

Harry was just finishing breakfast when a voice called out "thought you were going to trials without me eh?".

He looked up and found Draco grinning at him widely.

"Make that, without **us**" came Ron's voice as he, Neville and Hermione appeared behind Harry's brother.

Harry was surprised to see Hermione with them as while she liked Quidditch she wasn't the biggest fan in the world.

He was about the ask why Hermione was there when anticipating his question she said "I thought I'd come along for support as these three" she made a sweeping gesture to indicate Ron, Draco and Neville "are trying out today".

Harry's face broke into a broad smile. He really hoped his friends and brother could make the team or at least the reserves.

After the rest of the New Marauders had finished their breakfast, the five of them - four laden with brooms - headed through the grounds and down to the Quidditch stadium.

Once there, Harry waved farewell to the others and headed into the changing rooms.

"Hi Oliver" he said. He didn't feel at all surprised that his team captain was waiting for him given Wood's fanaticism in the matter of Quidditch.

"Ah Harry, good to see you setting an example to the potential new players".

Harry frowned "don't I have to try out again?".

Wood looked aghast at this "of course not!, your the best seeker we've had since Charlie Weasley".

Harry looked very uncomfortable.

"Uh, Oliver, I'd rather go through the try out process if you don't mind".

Wood gaped at him like he'd just turned into a hippogryf and flown away "but...but...but" he stammered.

"Please Oliver" Harry begged "I get so much unwanted attention for being the Boy Who Lived and getting on the team automatically would just make it worse, if I try out and I'm good enough I'll get back in on merit".

Evidently Wood couldn't fault Harry's logic as he nodded and said reluctantly "alright then Harry, you head on out to the pitch once you're dressed and wait for the others".

When Harry emerged from the changing rooms five minutes later he was waylaid by Draco, Ron and Neville who were looking at him in confusion "Harry, shouldn't you be with Wood waiting for the team?" Neville asked sounding perplexed.

"Yeah Harry, what's going on?" Ron added sounding equally confused.

Harry looked at his three friends for a moment before saying "I convinced Wood to let me go through the try out for seeker".

"What!?" Ron burst on in disbelief "are you mad Harry? you are the best player of that team, you deserve to be on it".

"I think Harry's worried about the reaction of others if he's automatically on the team" Draco looked at Harry "am I right?".

Harry nodded and then added "I want to know that I got on the team through hard word and skill not because I'm famous, it may be there's someone better than me and I have to give others the chance".

"But Harry..." Ron began.

Harry cut him off "don't you see Ron, it's not about me!" he said passionately "it's about the team, the team is what matters here, not me".

"What...

"Is...

"Going...

"On?", came the voices of Fred and George as they arrived on the pitch with Alicia, Katie and Angelina just behind them.

"Harry's going through the try out's for seeker" Neville explained.

Once again Harry was met with expressions of bewilderment from the other team members who all rushed to assure him he was the best person for seeker.

"I bet it's Wood" Fred said.

"Yeah, be just like something he'd do" George said.

"It's not him!" Harry half yelled as he ran a hand through his messy hair in frustration "as I told these three..." he gestured to Ron, Draco and Neville "...i'm doing it myself because I have to know I truly deserve to be on the team".

The other Gryffindors all shook their heads at this except for Draco who flashed him a sympathetic smile and communicating through their link said "don't worry about this lot bro, I get it, good for you".

Harry smiled back gratefully at his brother.

A short time later Wood emerged from the changing rooms clipboard under one arm and broom in his right hand.

"Right everybody..." he began as he examined the assembled students on the pitch "I've got a list here and we'll go through in order of position the candidates, when I call your name..." he tapped the clipboard for emphasise "I want you to get up into the air and show me what you've got in your given position, you'll have five minutes each".

He looked round at everybody "is that all clear?" he asked authoritatively.

Most people nodded.

Harry looked up into the stands and saw Ginny, Luna and surprisingly Percy sitting there all smiling at him.

Percy even gave him a thumbs up as he sat with his arm around his girlfriend Penelope.

As it was by order of position, Harry sat back in the stands - broom tucked securely under him and watched the candidates for Beater first and could only say that none would displace the Weasley Twins. Next came the Chasers to demonstrate their skills or in the case of a few their lack thereof.

The one person Harry was most interested in was his brother Draco who along with Neville were trying out.

Harry felt conflicted by this as he like Angelina, Katie and Alicia but he couldn't help imagine how great it would be to play a match alongside his brother and his best friends.

It happened in a flash. So quickly that Harry almost missed it. Alicia and Katie were performing some Chaser moves as a demonstration when a rogue bludger coming from out of seemingly nowhere slammed into Alicia causing her to collide with Katie and the pair of them to fall to the ground in a heap of bodies and broken brooms.

Thankfully they had only been ten feet from the ground meaning they had no head injuries.

Wood was so horror struck by the incident that he called off the try out's and informed everyone they would resume the next day once he knew more about the conditions of the two girls.

Harry himself felt guilty. He hadn't done anything to make the incident happen but he had wished for Draco and Neville to be on the team with him. Although, he didn't want it to be like this.

"We know who released the bludger" Fred said seriously as the Gryffindors made their way up the sloping lawns through the rain to the castle "who?" Harry asked feeling angry that anyone would do this.

"Theodore Nott" George answered promptly.

Harry growled low in his throat at the mention of his nemesis.

"Harry no!" came Draco's voice over their link.

Harry glared at him and shot back "he hurt Katie and Alicia, they never did anything to him, he deserves some payback".

It was a nervous few hours after that as the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Harry's friends and brother and Percy Weasley all waited outside of the hospital wing for news on Alicia and Katie.

It was six that evening when the hospital doors opened quietly and the voice of Madam Pomfrey announced tiredly but with relief that the worst of their injuries had been dealt with but that Alicia had a broken left arm and Katie a broken right leg.

Beside him Harry heard Wood's groan. The first Quidditch match of the season was only two weeks away which meant Alicia and Katie would have to sit it out and Wood would need replacements in the Chaser position.

To this effect he asked the other team members plus Harry's brother and friends to spread the word on a try out that would be held the next day at nine am sharp.

* * *

Harry and the rest of the New Marauders were minding their own business as they made their way to the Great Hall.

Suddenly from nearby came the voice of the ever arrogant Nott "oh dear, poor poor Spinnett and Bell" he said in a voice of mock concern "I do hope they're alright" Harry saw him examine his finger nails before he continued casually "of course, they probably won't be able to play now".

Harry couldn't stand it anymore. All last year he'd put up with Nott's insults. His snobbish behaviour and entitlement.

He advanced across the corridor, his face like thunder.

"Oh, Potty Potthead is angry" Nott said in a mock scared voice before guffawing loudly with his two goons Crabbe and Goyle.

The laughter stopped abruptly and Nott's eyes widened as he caught sight of Harry's wand being pointed in his direction.

"Shut up Nott, or I'll make you shut up!" he said hotly.

Nott's arrogant sneer was back "you haven't got the balls Potter, you wouldn't dare attack me so near the Great Hall".

"Try me" Harry growled out before shouting "Impedimenta!" he roared.

Nott dived out of the way and shouted back "Locomotor Wibbly!".

Harry dived just in time to miss and fired back "Conjutiva Immobila!".

Nott, unable to get out of the way in time was struck by the spell and Harry watched in satisfaction as the arrogant prat fumbled about trying to get his bearings.

"He's over here Theo!" Crabbe yelled and placed Nott in Harry's line of vision.

"Confringo!" Nott shouted. His curse missed Harry by inches as Harry dived out of the way. Instead, it struck an ancient suit of armour just behind him and smashed it to pieces.

Crabbe and Goyle had whipped out their wands now and both shouted "Confringo!" at Harry.

Harry had no idea what was happening. One moment he'd been in the path of the spells and the next he was lying on the concrete floor.

Puzzled by this he pushed himself up using his hands. What he saw horrified him. Ron had pushed Harry out of the spells way and was lying unconscious but thankfully breathing on the floor.

"No!" Harry shouted in dismay as he sank to his knees.

"What is the meaning of this!?" came the stern voice of Professor McGonagall.

Harry closed his eyes. Not only was Ron hurt but he could tell that the Professor was outraged.

"Fighting in the hallways, I have never..." she sounded so angry that her voice had failed her.

"I presume you all have a good explanation for this unnecessary display" came Professor Snape's voice.

Professor McGonagall left for a short while and returned in the company of Madam Pomfrey the Hogwarts Medi Witch who took one look at Ron and conjured a stretcher taking a moment to commend the Professors for not having moved him.

Unsurprisingly, the Professors dragged the remaining students up to the Headmasters Office.

It was just as Professor Snape was about to knock that the doors swung open to reveal the elderly wizard sitting behind his desk.

He sat there with his hands stretched out in front of him. Harry could see no trace of the familiar twinkle in Albus Dumbledore's blue eyes and that made Harry not only nervous but also feel very guilty. The guilt being additional to the feeling of getting Ron hurt protecting him.

The Headmaster, after all must have much better things to do with his evening than lecture a bunch of students.

The students were split into two groups. Those not involved (Draco, Hermione and Neville) went off to the right. Harry stayed in the centre with Professor McGonagall right behind him while Nott and his goons were shuffled off to the left by Professor Snape.

"I want each of you to explain in your own words what happened and then we shall examine your memories" Dumbledore told them seriously.

It was decided that the students should go in alphabetical order starting with Draco giving his account and finishing with Harry.

Following this, the three Professors examined their students memories of the incident.

Dumbledore stood in front of his desk. His blue eyes roved from one end of the office to the other before he made his decision "there shall be no action taken against Miss Granger, Mr Longbottom or Mr Black".

Harry felt a bit better over this.

Furthermore I award in his absence five points to Mr Weasley for his bravery.

"As for Mr's Potter, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle" Dumbledore looked at them sternly over his spectacles "each shall receive a weeks worth of detention and I think..." he paused for a moment "sixty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin".

Harry closed his eyes in horror. He could handle the detention but sixty points lost in the space of a few minutes?. The rest of the house would kill him.

"Your detentions Mr Potter shall be served with Mr Lockhart. Harry stared at him in horror and could swear the corners of the Headmasters mouth twitched upwards at this.

"Mr Nott shall serve his with Mr Filch", Nott who was still in pain from the Conjunctivitis jinx moaned in despair.

"Mr's Crabbe and Goyle shall serve theirs with Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape respectively, now, I suggest all of you students return to your common rooms and to prevent any further incident tonight you shall be escorted back to your respective common rooms by your Heads of House".

Harry was silent all the way back to the tower. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid. Yet again his temper had got the best of him and cost his house.

He made a resolution that from that moment on he would keep his anger in check. He remembered his encounter with Quirrell/Voldemort in his first year and shuddered.

He had much bigger problems than a pure-blood bigot.

* * *

"Harry, you won't believe what's happened!" Dean said in horror as the New Marauders stepped wearily through the portrait hole.

Harry's stomach tightened painfully.

"Come and have a look Harry, somethings wrong with the counters" Seamus dragged Harry across the room.

"We've lost sixty points somehow".

"Must be some first year doing something" Dean muttered.

"err guys it wasn't a first year". Dean and Seamus looked at him, frowning.

"What do you mean Harry?" Dean asked.

Harry swallowed nervously "it was...well...it was my fault" he muttered.

"WHAT!" Seamus bellowed in fury.

Harry explained what had happened and by the end of the explanation Seamus looked murderous and Dean looked disappointed in Harry.

"Hey everybody!" Seamus called out. The common room fell into silence as the other Gryffindors turned at the sound of his voice.

Seamus pointed to Harry "it was his fault!, he got into a fight with Theo Nott cause he couldn't keep his temper in check!".

"Hey back off Seamus, he's already being punished for it" Draco said stepping in.

"Yeah come on Seamus we all make mistakes" Neville interjected.

"A mistake!?" Seamus almost growled "this idiot has put us in last place for the House Cup and it's not even October yet!".

"That'll do Seamus, please" Hermione pleaded with the other boy. Seamus glared at her but said nothing.

"I tell you one thing" Seamus said "I'm not talking to him" the boy said, pointing at Harry "until he redeems himself".

Just before bed that night Fred and George waylaid Harry and said in admiring tones "we're impressed Harry...

"No one but us has lost that many points...

"In one go".

Harry groaned.

"Don't worry about it Harry, that lot will forget all about it soon enough" Fred assured him.

"I agree with these two Harry" came Percy's voice from one of the sofas "you made a mistake, it's not like others haven't before you, just keep your head down, work hard, have fun and you'll get through it" the older boy assured him.

None of this made Harry feel better about himself. He'd let down the Headmaster, he'd let down his Head of House who he really respected, he'd let down his House but most of all he'd let down his friends and family.

As he lay in bed that night he dreaded the arrival of his parents new owl Plato.

* * *

Sure enough, the next morning as Harry was eating a light breakfast (he didn't feel hungry) of toast in the Great Hall a rustle of wings could be heard.

As it was a Sunday and owls never usually delivered post on a Sunday, every single occupant of the hall turned their heads to the rafters to watch as the light brown owl zoomed down towards the Gryffindor table, landed gracefully in between Harry's plate and goblet of water, dropped a letter at his feet and zoomed off after nipping his hand, hard.

After massaging his hand he swallowed nervously. Having received a howler from his Mum the previous year in relation to the troll incident he knew what one looked like.

He seized the envelope and went to make a dash for it. The envelope however wasted not time as it tore itself open in his hand.

In horror, he threw it back down onto the table as a loud, irate voice burst forth "Harry James Potter!, what have you done!?".

He grimaced as he heard his mothers enraged voice.

"Even your father never lost that many points in one night!".

Harry swallowed "if you cause any more problems this year, we are taking your broom away from you!".

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't lose his Nimbus 2001. He needed it for Quidditch.

"Not only that but we'll talk to Professor McGonagall and have you removed from the Quidditch team!".

The letter ignited and burst into flames. In moments it was a pile of ash.

Harry stared at the pile in shock.

He had to behave perfectly. No pranks, no fights or he'd lose his most prized possession and be barred from doing the one thing he loved most in life.

Harry looked round the table at his friends and brother. Draco and Ron both looked sympathetic, Neville, Fred and George were sniggering loudly, Ginny seemed preoccupied and hadn't noticed and Hermione had her customary "I told you so" look on.

Harry sighed, finished his toast and left his half full goblet on the table as he stood up, seized his broom and slouched out of the Great Hall.

That days Quidditch trials went off without a hitch, Fred and George were confirmed as the team beaters, Wood would of course stay keeper but he brought Ron onto the team as a back up in case he got hurt.

Harry sat cheering in the stands next to Hermione as Draco and Neville wowed the watching students alongside Angelina.

Wood was a great keeper but conceded a great many goals between the three of them.

It was therefore unsurprising but very welcome when Wood announced that Draco and Neville would be on the team in place of Katie and Alicia.

Finally it came to the seeker position. Harry, his mind focused on behaving and doing well, put on a masterclass that the other potential seekers couldn't come close to thus ensuring his confirmation as being team seeker for that Quidditch season.

* * *

The next two weeks passed by in a rush of classes and Quidditch training for Harry. Lockhart, as ever was a prat and continued to call on Harry to help demonstrated parts of his books despite Harry's obvious loathing of it.

Harry noticed Ginny looking paler than usual and was surprised to have seen her with a diary.

One day, just before the first Quidditch match of the season against Hufflepuff, he caught up with her in the common room "hey Ginny, what's up?".

Ginny looked around, startled, but smiled shakily "not much, you?".

"Same old, same old" he replied, sitting down "training too hard, studying too hard". He wasn't sure how to outright say it "Ginny..." he broke off as he searched for the right words "you aren't okay are you?".

Ginny looked at him through tired eyes and her composure cracked. Sobbing, she replied "no, it's this bloody diary".

Harry hugged for a while in comfort and then asked "what diary?".

Ginny fished through her school bag and extracted the book he'd seen her with a few days earlier. It was old. Harry could tell that match "it was quite worn and didn't look like something someone would have bought for school.

"Where did it come from?" he asked as he stroked the leather bound cover.

"Luna gave it to me, she doesn't write diaries and since I do she thought I'd like it".

"Well...how did she get it?".

Ginny shrugged, "she doesn't know, she was packing for Hogwarts one day and found it with her other school books and assumed her Dad or Mum bought it for her".

"How exactly is this object affecting you?" he asked in concern.

Ginny opened the diary, wrote in it and waited. Harry watched in a mixture of amazement and horror as the book began to reply to her "hello Ginny, long time no see".

"It's usually ruder than that to" she said with a slight sniffle "it's being polite because there's someone else here".

Harry thought for a moment and then made a decision "I'll take from you Ginny if it's making you that unhappy, when I get some free time I'll show this to Professor McGonagall, she's brilliant, she'll know what to do".

Ginny nodded gratefully and handed over the old book to her friend. Harry's eyes locked with hers. They looked away and from the corner of his eye he could see she was blushing.

He was sure he must be too.

* * *

Everything seemed to be going well that next day. Harry got up early as was his custom on weekends, showered, got dressed and had breakfast alongside his team mates and the other Gryffindors such as Hermione who had got up early in a show of support as most of her friends were on the team in some capacity.

The team had gone down to the stadium for Wood's usual, long, boring team talk and a training session.

At ten am the match had got underway and to start with everything went well. Gryffindor scored five time in ten minuted to go fifty nil up.

Hufflepuff fired back to make it fifty forty. Harry had just caught the snitch which signalled and end to the game.

Madam Hooch had blown her whistle and the team were coming over to celebrate when it happened. Harry felt something heavy smash into his broom.

He looked around in confusion and saw a bludger coming at him for a second pass.

He hurtled away in panic as the bludger chased him. Fred and George pursued the bludger and swatted it away several times but it wouldn't be denied. Eventually, the bludger slammed hard into the back of Harry's head when he was fifteen feet from the ground.

He slipped sideways off his broom and to everyone's horror slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch.

The only thing Harry felt at that moment was overwhelming pain in his right arm. Everywhere else seemed fine.

He heard voices and soon, into his field of vision came his team mates and a very concerned Hermione and Ron who'd been watch from the stands.

"Harry, oh my god, are you ok mate?" asked Ron in shock.

"Give him some room Ron!" Hermione admonished the red haired boy.

"Stand aside everyone I can handle this!" came the cheerful voice of Professor Lockhart.

"Oh no", Harry groaned as he braced himself for the prat to arrive at the scene.

"Ah young Harry!, had a bit of accident eh?, well, never mind, lets have a look".

Lockhart quickly examined him and found the problem to be a broken right arm "I can fix this up in a jiffy" the man said as he seized Harry's arm.

"No!" Harry shouted "please, not you, leave it..." he couldn't finish the sentence as a wave of pain hit him.

"Poor boys delirious!" Lockhart said jovially "doesn't know what he's saying, now Harry this won't hurt a bit".

Lockhart muttered some words and the pain disappeared. In fact...every sensation in his arm had disappeared!.

Harry looked at his right arm and shouted in alarm. It was floppy!. He moved it about a bit and found it did not work as it should.

Harry glared at Lockhart who had grace to look sheepish "ah, well, yes...that can sometimes happen...but...uh...not to worry...".

Lockhart was about to utter another incantation when the no nonsense voice of Madam Pomfrey the Hogwarts Medi Witch cut through the air "out of the way please!, I must examine Mr Potter!".

The crowd parted and in an instant the witch was by his side using her wand to locate his injuries.

"Where are his arm bones?" she asked in irritation.

"Professor Lockhart..." Harry began, Madam Pomfrey silenced him with an understanding look on her face "I shall want a chat later "Professor" she said sternly to the Defence teach who looked very nervous.

"Come on Mr Potter lets get you to the hospital wing".

Once Harry was settle on a bed he asked in worry "can you fix my arm Madam Pomfrey?".

The Medi Witch grimaced "I can Mr Potter but it will be a painful process, you shall have to stay here overnight and..." she extracted a potion vial from her bag "you must drink several vials of this" she tapped the side of the vial, uncorked it and handed it to Harry who looked askance at the liquid. It was a horrible brownish colour.

Sighing, he downed it and gagged immediately "ugh!, that's horrible!".

It tasted like a cross between petrol and treacle. It was foul.

"I dare say it does taste bad Mr Potter" Madam Pomfrey said grimly "but if a certain person" she looked at Lockhart who withered under her glare "had brought you to me sooner, I could have mended it easier, as it is you are in for a rough night Potter".

Harry nodded and then grunted in pain as he felt the potions effects begin to work.

"I must insist you all leave now" she said briskly as she bustled everyone else out of the hospital wing.

* * *

That night, as Harry was preparing to sleep, he heard a loud popping sound and nearly shouted in alarm as the House Elf he had met in his dorm room a month earlier, was now standing on his bed staring at him.

"Molter!" he said in surprise.

"Harry Potter has not listened to Molter!" the House Elf said wringing his hands in lament "the school is not safe, bad things are about to happen".

"You said that before Molter, but what bad things?, who's behind them?".

Molter shook his head to imply he couldn't say.

"Ok, I get it, you can't say who but surely you can tell what?".

"I cannot Harry Potter, for the family I serve..." the House Elf clapped a hand over his mouth in horror and began searching for something to beat himself with.

"Alright, alright, take it easy Molter" Harry said soothingly.

"So you can't tell me what or who but can you at least tell me what it has to do with me?".

To his surprise Molter didn't clam up "this I can do, the plot is against you Harry Potter, it is all a plan to capture you".

Harry was in shock and then a thought sprang to mind "so, whoever is behind it must have enchanted the bludger that attacked me" he said more to himself than Molter.

Molter, at these words, looked very uncomfortable "Molter requests that Harry Potter not be angry with him".

Harry frowned in puzzlement "why would I be angry at you?" he replied.

Molter played with his interlocked fingers "Molter thought that...that...that if you were hurt, you'd leave the school and then...you'd be safe".

"What..." a realisation hit him like a run away train "you!" he hissed "you did this to me!, you enchanted that bludger!, I could have been killed!".

"I didn't want to kill you sir, never kill you, merely hurt you, so you'd leave".

"Why you..." Harry, feeling irate, made a grab for the House Elf who said "I'm sorry Harry Potter" and disappeared with a loud pop.

"Damn!" Harry muttered angrily as he lay back against his pillows wondering if Molter was genuine, messing with him or just plain crackers 'probably the last two' he thought in annoyance.

This year was not shaping up at all how he'd thought it would. He'd hoped for a quiet year.

* * *

Hi all my readers. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. In the next chapter. The chamber is opened, the second Quidditch match and Harry hears voices.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for the characters of Lucy, Janice, David, Molly & Celia which are my own creations & I am making no money from this.

* * *

Hi readers sorry this chapter has been so long in coming. I've been rather busy & also had a big case of writers block. Hopefully it's a good read and please remember to review. Helps me out immensely. Thanks for your continued support.

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Duelling Club, Halloween, Chamber of Secrets

On Sunday Harry was released from the hospital wing and met up with the remaining New Marauders at breakfast.

"Hey Harry did you hear?" Ron asked him.

"Hear what?" Harry replied as he selected a stack of pancakes with golden syrup.

"A duelling club is being formed" Hermione said.

"It starts Friday night after dinner in the Great Hall" Neville put in.

"What you reckon Harry, interested?" Draco asked his brother as he slathered his toast with jam.

Harry, his mouth full of pancakes smiled and nodded "yeah, sounds good" he replied.

"Harry don't talk with your mouthful" Hermione chided him.

Everyone else laughed.

"Wonder who's running it" Neville pondered as he took a sip of pineapple juice.

"I heard that Flitwick was UK duelling champion" Draco said "I'd say it's him".

* * *

The next six days went by fast with Harry busy with classes, homework assignments, Quidditch practice with Wood working the team harder than ever in search of a second straight Quidditch Cup and hanging out with his friends and brother.

Friday night arrived and at eight pm the five friends feeling very excited, made their way down to the Great Hall for the first Duelling Club meeting.

The hall was packed out with students from every house. Harry greeted Seamus and Dean and the other Gryffindors.

He noted with disappointment that Nott was in the hall flanked as ever by his two goons Crabbe and Goyle.

Nott's eyes met his and the other boy smirked while Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles menacingly.

"Don't worry about that idiot Harry" Draco said having evidently read his brothers mind.

"Yeah he's not worth it mate" Ron added.

The five of them turned their attention to the double doors along with the other students as they creaked open.

In stepped the man who was virtually an Uncle to both Harry and Draco, Severus Snape. His cloak billowing out behind him like a bat, the Potions Professor strode through the hall towards the stage that had been erected near the right hand side where the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables were usually situated.

"Uncle Se...uh...Professor Snape" Harry said checking himself at the last moment.

Severus turned to him and said in his usual soft voice "yes Harry?".

"I didn't know you set up the duelling club".

His Uncles face went from neutral into a grimace and Harry guessed something was up "I didn't form this club Harry, I am merely...helping out" he told Harry calmly but with a tense undertone.

He then walked away leaving Harry feeling very confused.

"Draco must be right" Neville Said "it has to be Flitwick".

"Professor Flitwick" Hermione amended absently as they turned their attention to the doors again.

The large oak doors creaked open a second time and in strode...

"Oh you have to be joking!" Harry exclaimed in despair.

"It can't be!" Draco said.

"Not here too!" Ron added.

"Must just be here to watch" Neville joked.

"Would it really be so bad if he was running it?" Hermione asked.

"Yes!", the boys answered collectively.

Gilderoy Lockhart, looking resplendent as ever in flowing cream and brown robes, his golden hair meticulously curled - walked confidently across the hall waving at the stunned students, his usual toothy smile plastered across his face.

'Please don't let it be him' Harry thought in desperation. He saw Draco looking at him with the same desperation and in his head heard 'it's him'.

Harry turned his eyes to the stage area where a beaming Gilderoy Lockhart and an irritated Severus Snape stood.

"Good evening everyone!" Lockhart said brightly "so please to see so many of you hear!, I'm sure we will have an excellent time!".

Harry noted with incredulity that Hermione and many other girls were paying attention to nothing else but the prat who was talking.

"I doubt it somehow" Draco said with a snort. Ron and Neville sniggered. Hermione glared at them and Harry quickly turned his laugh into a cough.

"What?" he said innocently.

His friend let out an irritated huff and turned her attention back to the Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher.

"First of all myself and Professor Snape" he gestured to Uncle...Professor Snape who was scowling at his fellow Professor "shall demonstrate a defensive spell and attacking spell then you shall all split into pairs and practice duelling with the new spells".

Lockhart turned to Snape "If you would join me on the stage Professor Snape" he beamed at Snape "I promise not to go too rough on you" he said condescendingly.

Harry was sure his Uncle would forget using his wand and simply punch the man if he didn't shut up. He was almost certain his Uncle would "forget" that it was only a practice and would not go easy on the arrogant wizard.

The two men stepped up onto the stage and for a moment faced the crowd "first allow us to demonstrated the proper procedure for initiating a duel".

"Professor Snape?".

The two wizards turned to each other and bowed (reluctantly in Snape's case). They then raised their wands, turned away from each other and took ten paces.

They whirled round and quick as a flash Snape shouted "Flippendo!", Lockhart flew backwards and landed with a thud on the stage.

He got up slowly, breathing heavily and adjusted his hair "ah yes, very good Professor Snape" he said jovially.

Harry could tell though that he was annoyed as the smile on his face did not reach his eyes.

"But if you don't mind me saying, it was very obvious what you were about to do".

Snape snorted at this words.

"And if I wanted to stop you I could have" Lockhart finished smugly.

He turned to the students "what Professor Snape has just demonstrated is the Knockback Jinx, it causes the uh...the target to be knocked back hence the name" he said speaking slowly as if they were stupid.

The boys were scowling at him.

"Now, we shall demonstrated a shield charm".

He turned back to Snape who was looking like he wanted to hit him. Lockhart was, not surprisingly, oblivious to the other mans hostility.

"This next spell is called Protego" the Defence teacher told the crowd.

"On my count Professor Snape, I shall throw a spell at you and you throw up a shield".

Snape rolled his eyes at this and readied his wand.

"Three, two, one" Lockhart called out "Locomotor Wibbly!".

Before the spell had even left his wand Snape had wordlessly thrown up a shield.

The spell impacted the shield and bounced off harmlessly.

To Lockharts evident horror, the horror of all the girls save for Ginny and the joy of all the boys, the spell not only bounced off but actually rebounded!.

"Argh!" Lockhart yelled in panic as the jinx hit him in the legs. He lost his balanced and fell hard onto the stage.

He attempted to stand but found that he could not as his legs seemed to have turned to jelly.

"Allow me Gilderoy" Snape said, smirking widely as he muttered the counter jinx. In a second Lockharts legs were still and the flustered Professor was able to stand up again "my thanks Professor Snape, however I was just about to use that very counter-jinx myself" he said.

Snape's smirk was replaced with a murderous look.

'Can't the prat ever just say thank you?' Harry wondered in disbelief at the arrogance the man showed.

"No, he's a prat" Draco supplied out loud.

"I hate it when you two do that" Ron bemoaned "never know what you're both saying to each other".

The two of them grinned at their best friend "jealous Ickle Ronniekins?" Harry asked teasingly.

"Shut up gimboid" Ron replied, though he was smiling.

"Aw Ickle Ronniekins IS jealous!" Draco said.

Ron playfully punched him on the arm and slapped both Harry and Neville - who'd started laughing - on the backs of their heads.

Hermione shook her head grinning and muttered "boys" which caused the other four to break into laughter.

"Now it's time to pair up" Lockhart announced once he was feeling less disgruntled and looking less like a man who'd fallen in a ditch.

Harry paired up with Ron while Draco paired with Hermione. Unfortunately this seemed to leave Neville without a partner, however as luck would have it Ginny agreed to partner up with him as Luna had not turned up to the meeting.

Soon the hall was filled with the sounds of jinxes, curses and the mutterings of defence spells as everyone practised what they had learned (or rather most of what they had learned).

"Alright everybody, it's time for a demonstration!" Lockhart announced to the students.

"Who wants to come on up and show us what they've learned?".

Harry, knowing he'd be called on decided to get it over with and stepped forward to volunteer himself.

Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione all stepped forward as well however Professor Lockhart threw up a hand and said "I think it would be better if Mr Potter duelled with...Mr Nott".

Harry glared at him. It wasn't that he was afraid of the bigoted moron. Rather, he didn't want to get in trouble for hurting a fellow student and he disliked his fellow student deeply.

"Lockhart I don't think..." Snape began only for Lockhart to cut him off "I'm well aware of how prominent Harry is Severus and that we should put him to unnecessary harm however he can't go on being protected forever" he said brightly as he looked at Harry.

Harry glared back furiously at him. He'd already faced up to Voldemort the previous year and this idiot thought he couldn't defend himself?. Thought that he needed his friends and family to shield him?.

'I'll show him!' Harry thought savagely as he climbed up onto the stage. He glanced at his Uncle and nodded.

His Uncle clearly understood the gesture as he stepped back. Harry took up his position opposite Nott who was sneering at him.

Harry stared at the other boy, a determined look on his face.

They bowed to each other and turning around walked down the stage to their starting positions.

"Now on the count of three you will turn around and cast your spells" Lockhart announced to the two boys who nodded not taking their eyes from one another".

"One, two, three, go!" Lockhart said.

Before three had even been spoken Harry was forced to throw up a shield to block a blasting hex from Nott.

He dodged a second and fired back with the jelly legs jinx which Nott was unable to block. The others boys legs collapsed heavily under him. He did however have just enough time to cast a spell at Harry "Serpensortia!" he cried out hoarsely as he toppled over.

Harry to his astonishment and general horror found himself face to face with a large green and black, very angry snake.

It hissed at him as it advanced menacingly. Now Harry of course could control snakes but he did not have the inclination to do so now it would reveal his secret and he was worried how those not in his family or the New Marauders would take it.

Instead he threw up a shield charm.

"Have no fear Mr Potter I'll get rid it for you" Lockhart said confidently as he stepped forward to the edge of the stage.

"For god's sake Lockhart leave it to me!" Snape shouted as he rushed forward.

It was too late however as Lockhart murmured "Alarte Ascendare!". The snake, instead of vanishing as had seemingly been Lockharts intent, flew ten feet in the air, hissing all the while and to the horror of those present (mostly) landed with loud thud on the stage.

Now the snake was furious and clearly intent on taking it's anger out on someone.

That someone was Justin Finch Fletchley who, unfortunately enough for him was standing at the very front of the crowd near the stage and directly in the enraged creatures line of sight.

The snake advanced on Justin and had reached the edge of the stage when a desperate but resolute Harry knew no matter how much he didn't want to use his powers, he had to. Had to do it to save his fellow student.

It was with this thought in mind that he stood up straighter looking more confident and said in what he knew to be Parseltongue but sounded to him like plain English, "leave him alone, I command you as a Parselmouth to harm no one in this room!".

The snake halted in confusion and uncertainty. Harry knew he felt this as he could feel the emotions of snakes due to his own ability.

The snake advanced once more "I said leave him alone, now!" Harry hissed.

This time the snake stopped and eyed Harry. It then lowered itself to the stage and did not move.

"I'll dispose of the creature" came Snape's calm but slightly shaky voice. He pushed Justin aside, aimed his wand at the motionless snake and murmured softly "Vipera Evanesca".

The snake vanished quietly and a general murmur arose from the students present. Some were talking about it quietly while others such as Justin's friends sounded angry.

Nott, Harry could see, looked stunned.

Harry looked around at the other students and then at Justin. He softly said "I was trying stop him" and as his eyes teared up he leapt from the stage, past his Uncle who tried to catch him and past the other students before any of the other New Marauders had chance to stop him.

He ran through the near deserted entrance hall not looking at where he was going. Eventually he halted and found himself in front of the massive oak doors of the entrance to Hogwarts Castle.

To his surprise the doors opened and he tore through them, down the front steps and across the sweeping lawns.

He knew his destination. There was only one man at Hogwarts he knew would understand what he was going through at that moment.

He reached Hagrids cabin and banged loudly on the door waiting, his breathing heavy, for a reply.

He heard a twang of springs and a shuffling of very large feet and the door was opened.

"Arry!", his half-giant friend and surrogate uncle said in surprise.

"What are ye doin ere at this hour?" he asked before noticing the tears running down Harry's cheeks.

"Come on inside" he said gently as he guided the boy he thought of as a son into his hut and closed the door.

"You sit down there and I'll make ye a nice cup a tea" he said kindly as he sat Harry down in a seat at the tall dining table in the cabins centre.

There was loud barking and an excited Fang hove into view and bustled around Harry's legs looking for attention and to comfort him.

Harry smiled weakly as he stroked the large dogs black fur. "Hey Fang" he said. In response the large dog slobbered all over him.

Harry laughed loudly at this and hugged the large animal.

"Down Fang!, down boy!" Hagrid called as he brought over a tray containing a tea pot, a milk jug, two cups and spoons and a sugar bowl.

He bustled around adding water and milk "I'll let you add your sugar, never can remember how much you take" the big man said with a grin.

Harry quietly added his sugar as the half-giant sat down and observed him. He could tell Harry had been crying and was obviously very distressed about something. Given that none of his friends or his brother were with him Hagrid knew instinctively that it must be something Harry wanted to talk about on his own.

"Wha's appened Arry?" Hagrid asked in worry.

Harry sniffled, took a sip of tea and said "everyone know's I can talk to snakes now".

"Ah" was all Hagrid could say "how did it appen?".

Harry explained slowly and in a voice thick with emotion how he and the others had attended the new duelling club up at the castle, he'd been duelled Nott who had conjured a snake which had been about to attack Justin before Harry spoke to it.

"And I just know Justin and the others will be angry and probably hate me for it" he lamented "cept for the New Marauders the rest will probably think I'm Slytherin's heir or something".

"Now that's nonsense Arry, didn't your Dad tell you you're descended from Ignotus Peverell?".

Harry nodded "well from what I know, the Peverell's are descended from the male line of Godric Gryffindor, that's why you were put in Gryffindor Harry, that's why you have the courage you do".

"But...but then...why do I have this ability to talk to snakes like...like him?" Harry said miserably.

It didn't take a genius to realise who Harry was talking about and Hagrid moved from his seat and enveloped the small boy in a big hug.

"I'm not sure about that Arry but if you want I can contact your Dad and ask him to come and talk to you".

Harry looked up into Hagrids kind, lined face and smiled in gratitude "could you?" he asked.

"O course, come with me, we'll go and see Professor Dumbledore and use his fireplace to contact him, I'd use mine but...well..." Hagrid gestured to the fireplace which due to the size of the hut was not big enough for either firecalling or floo travel".

Harry laughed "don't worry about it Hagrid, I'm sure Professor Dumbledore won't mind".

The two of them left the hut and headed up to the castle.

As Hagrid already knew that years password they gained admittance to the spiral staircase at once and soon found themselves in front of the door to the Headmasters Office.

Not surprisingly, the doors to the grand office swung open just as Hagrid was about to knock. Not for the first time Harry had the sense that the Professor knew more about what was going on in the school than should be humanly possible.

"Ah Hagrid, Harry, come in" the old wizard said kindly, a twinkle in his blue eyes as the two wizards entered and the doors swung shut behind them.

"And what brings the two of you to my office at..." the Headmaster glanced at his watch "nine o clock".

Hagrid explained about Harry having run down to his cabin in a terrible state.

While Harry for the second time that night told of his ordeal in the Great Hall "and that's why I felt I needed to speak to someone Professor" Harry said.

"Yes I quite understand my boy, I must have been most distressing for you" he said sympathetically "and I presume by your coming here that you wish to contact your family".

"Just my Dad if you don't mind Professor, I don't want my Mum worrying too much over this".

Dumbledore chuckled "of course my boy, I'll contact your Father and explain what's happened".

Harry flashed him a grateful smile and sat down in a soft armchair near the Headmasters desk.

* * *

James Potter was having a rest and a comforting pint of ale after a very stressful day at work. He usually drank firewhiskey but due to the demands of the week had run out and had yet to buy more.

He had just taken a sip of the crisp cold drink when the flames in the roaring fire turned green. He was startled to see Headmaster Albus Dumbledore's head poking through staring at him.

So startled in fact, that he dropped his glass splashing cold ale all down his trousers (he never wore robes except on special occasions)

He also choked on the ale and spluttered hoarsely "Al...Albus, what...what are calling for this time of night?".

Dumbledore looked extremely amused by the reaction he had received and James could tell from his twinkling eyes that he was having trouble laughing "it is your son James".

James stood up immediately, cast a quick drying charm on his clothes and asked sharply "what is it? what's happened?".

"Harry is physically well James but he feels he needs to talk to you".

James inwardly breathed a sigh of relief "alright, I'll get Lucy and we'll be over in a minute" he said as he moved over to the large double doors.

"No James, Harry has asked that just you come to see him".

James stared at the old wizard in confusion "why?" he asked feeling nonplussed.

"He doesn't want his Mother to worry too much and feels he won't be able to tell you everything if she is...fussing around him".

James smiled despite himself "she would at that, alright, I'm coming over now" he promised.

As soon the as the old wizards head left the fireplace, James took a pinch of floo powder from the bag he carried with him and said clearly "Headmasters Office, Hogwarts". He disappeared in a whoosh of green flames.

Not two seconds later, Lucy entered the drawing-room expecting to find James. She had brought in their supper "James, james?" she huffed in annoyance "where has the idiot got to?".

She shrugged, placed the tray down on the coffee table and began to eat as she pondered where her husband had vanished to.

* * *

Dumbledore was patting Harry on the back and Hagrid speaking words of comfort when the fireplace flared up and out stepped an anxious looking James Potter.

He made bee line for his Son not even bothering to sweep the soot from his clothes or face.

Harry upon spotting him, sprang up from his seat and launched himself into his Fathers open arms from which he proceeded to sob for the next five minutes before James managed to calm him down by stroking his hair as he had done when Harry was younger.

Harry was about to ask Professor Dumbledore to give him and his Father some privacy when he noticed the old wizard conjure a comfortable orange sofa with a deft wave of his wand.

"Hagrid and I shall depart for a while and give you some time to chat" the Headmaster said with a smile. With a look to Hagrid, the two men left the office.

Harry and his Dad sat on the sofa next to each other.

"So what was it you wanted to tell me Son?" James asked gently.

Harry looked into his Dad's hazel eyes for a moment before staring back at the floor and muttering "everyone knows my secret".

"What's that Harry?" James asked.

Harry took a deep breath "I said, everyone knows my secret now, you know...my ability to talk to snakes".

"Oh!" James said in surprise "well...how did it happen?".

Harry after wiping away his tears explained everything as he had told Hagrid, right from reaching the Great Hall to saving Justin from the snake "it was just instinctive, I didn't want to see Justin get hurt, I quite like him, so...so I told the snake to leave him alone, I couldn't stay after that, I knew the others would be angry or afraid or think I'm some sort of freak" he said in a voice thick with emotion.

James put an arm around his Son's shoulders and hugged him close "I know for certain that your Brother doesn't think that, Draco would never react that way and I can't see Ron, Neville, Hermione or the others behaving like that either, you've been through too much with them".

Harry looked at his Dad "it's like me with your Uncle's Sirius, Remus and Peter, we're like family, in fact...we are family, I know they've got my back as I've got there's and I'm willing to bet my wand it's the same for you and your friends" James said with a smile.

This reassured Harry a bit but he still had one thing circling about in his mind "but...the other students..." he began to say only for his Father to hold up a hand and silence him "Harry, you can't be liked by everyone, those that know the real you will back you up and the rest..." James threw his hands up "well...the rest...they just aren't worth bothering with, so don't let it get you down, just go as you are and ignore them".

Harry decided his Dad was right. There was nothing wrong with his ability. He'd not used it to hurt anyone, hell, he'd not even intended to use it at all and wouldn't have if a snake wasn't trying to hurt a fellow student. 'I'll follow Dad's advice and just keep my head down' he decided decisively.

* * *

Half an hour later Harry, after saying goodbye to his Dad climbed in through the portrait hole of Gryffindor Tower and was immediately waylaid by a concerned looking Neville who dragged him over to the others who were sitting in a corner of the common room near the fireplace.

As he and Neville approached them, he could see them engaged in various activities. Hermione as usual had her nose in a book. Harry noted the title being Snakes and their place in the wizarding world.

Ron and Draco were locking horns in a game of chess, with Ron just edging Harry's Brother. And Ginny and Luna were having a quiet chat on one of the sofa's.

Harry also noted that while they were engaged in these activities they all seemed tense, distracted 'probably because of me' he thought as he mentally kicked himself.

"Look who I found" Neville said as they approached.

The others abandoned what they were doing and stared in his direction.

Harry registered relief on the faces of both his Brother and Ron while unsurprisingly Hermione, Ginny and Luna ran over to him and hugged him.

"Oh Harry I'm so glad you're alright, we all are" Hermione said in relief as she hugged him.

"Yeah you had us worried" Ginny said as she hugged him next.

"I wasn't as worried as the others I knew you'd be back soon" Luna said with a smile as she hugged him.

Harry and the others spent some time chatting over the events in the Great Hall and Harry was very relieved to find that his Father had been right. He really could count on the other six New Marauders to support him.

"I was worried you lot wouldn't want to have anything to do with me" he admitted at one point "I know you all said you'd back me up and everything but...I get pretty irrational sometimes".

Ron snorted "yeah we know Mr Dollophead".

Harry grinned at him happy to have such support. He then looked at his watch and swore "Luna, we need to get you back to Ravenclaw Tower it's eleven o clock".

"Oh god!" Luna said jumping up "I had no idea".

"I'll walk you back" Harry offered only for Ron to jump in "no need for that Harry" he called over to the other side of the common room where his Brother Percy was chatting with Oliver Wood "oi Perce!".

Percy turned to look at his Brother "yes?".

"Luna here needs to get back to Ravenclaw Tower but it's after curfew, can you take her please?" he asked his Brother.

Percy smiled "sure, be happy to" the Prefect turned back to Wood and said "see you in a bit" stood up and walked over to them "lets go shall we" he said to the blonde haired girl.

"See you guys later" called Luna over her shoulder as she headed for the portrait hole. The others said farewell to her and returned to their discussion.

After he and Luna left Harry voiced his one remaining concern "I'm worried that Justin will be afraid of me now".

"You tried to save his life, he'll understand" Ron said confidently.

Neville and Hermione gave him sceptical looks while Draco decided to change the subject "so Harry, next Quidditch match soon, bet you catch the snitch even sooner than usual".

Harry was grateful for the distraction. The six remaining New Marauders spent a good two hours discussing the match as well as the Halloween feast that was coming up.

* * *

It was a few days before Halloween when Harry finally remembered the diary that Ginny had given to him.

He'd promised her to take it to Professor McGonagall as Ginny was concerned about the object. In the rush of classes, clubs and Quidditch however he'd not had time.

It was thus that he was currently heading to his Head of House's office on the third floor to give her the diary.

He was however not looking where he was going and bumped into someone "oof!" he said out loud as he found himself sprawled painfully on the ground.

"In a hurry Harry?" came the one voice he had no desire to hear next to Theodore Nott. He looked up and found himself staring at Gilderoy Lockhart, Professor and Prat and so called Defensive Master (though Harry believed not a word of this).

Despite his dislike for the man, Lockhart was a teacher and Harry had been raised to be respectful to his elders "yes sir" he said as Lockhart helped him up "I need to speak to Professor McGonagall".

"And what's this?" Lockhart asked as he picked up the diary which Harry had accidentally dropped.

"Oh, that's nothing, just...my diary!" he improvised.

"I highly doubt this is your diary Harry, it's very old and...blank" Lockhart eyed him for a moment "I had better look after this".

Harry stared in disbelief "but...but...Professor...I...".

"No buts Harry, it's clearly not a diary and not something you should have" Lockhart said as he strode off leaving Harry flabbergasted.

* * *

Back in his office on the third floor Gilderoy Lockhart looked at the cover of the diary and said in a voice dripping with venom "Nott you idiot!".

* * *

The day of the Halloween feast finally arrived. All through that day Harry was looking forward to it, through his classes, through lunch and through that days prank meeting (they were planning a prank on Fred and George Weasley in retaliation for one in September).

Harry certainly hoped that this year would be less eventful than last years feast.

He still remembered all too clearly the Defence teacher Professor Quirrell running into the Great Hall, out of breath and terrified, shouting his head off about a troll in the dungeons.

At that point in time Harry wasn't wholly sure he was bad. Until he and his friends followed him to the third floor corridor that is and observed Uncle Severus heading him off. 'Uncle Sev sure had the match of that slimeball' Harry thought with a smirk.

The morning seemed to go very well. Harry knuckled down and worked hard in his classes in anticipation of the succulent feast that evening.

It was in the afternoon when things began to go wrong.

It was after the last class of the day and Harry had bent down to tie his shoe lace as he and the others left Charms.

That's when he heard the voice. It was bone chilling. With the exceptions of Voldemort and Quirrell, he had never heard anything like it "kill" it said "tear, rip, blood, blood, must kill!".

"What...who said that?" Harry shouted in surprise. His friends and brother looked at him like he was mad "uh Harry mate, no one spoke" Ron said.

"Yes they did, they must have" Harry said "I heard someone say, kill, tear, rip and something about blood" he told them.

"Harry" Hermione began gently "there's only us here and none of us were talking".

"Well if it wasn't any of you then..." Harry suddenly had a dawning comprehension 'if it wasn't them then it had to be a snake, but...it couldn't be, no one had a snake, not even the Slytherins, they weren't allowed as pets'.

"This is going to sound mad guys and I don't know how but...I think...I think I'm hearing a snake" he told them.

They looked at him sceptically.

"I don't see how it could be Harry" Neville said "snakes aren't allowed in the school".

"Nev's right Harry, there aren't any at Hogwarts" Ron added.

Harry looked hopefully at Hermione who suddenly found her shoes very interesting and then at his brother.

Draco shook his head "if there was a snake going about the school someone would have seen it Harry, sorry but I agree with the others".

Harry felt angry then. After all the five of them had been through they didn't believe him. They thought he was making it up...or mad.

"Fine then!" he said as he turned on his heel and stormed off.

"Harry come back!" Hermione called sounding apologetic.

He ignored her and kept on walking.

As he walked he stared at the ground. He could still hear the voice. But now, it was louder. As if the creature was nearby.

Eventually Harry found himself in the corridor near the disused girls bathroom. He looked up and froze in horror at the sight on the wall ahead of him.

Hanging on a hook on the wall was Mrs Norris the pet cat of Caretaker Argus Filch.

That was the only chilling thing he saw however as on the wall just below him written in what disturbingly looked like blood were in capital letters the words "THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE".

Harry bent forward and retched until he had emptied the contents of his stomach.

He had seen some bad things in his twelve years of life but he seen nothing like this.

"Harry!, there you are!" came a voice from nearby.

"What..." the voice began only to fall silent no doubt having observed the sight Harry himself had.

"Oh my god, is that Filches cat?" Draco asked as he reached his brothers side.

Harry nodded dumbly as he stared in shock.

"Draco you found him..." came Hermione's voice and Harry knew the other three had arrived.

"What on earth happened?" Neville whispered.

After Harry managed to collect himself he muttered "no idea but we'd better go and tell Professor Dumbledore about this".

Before they could leave however the classrooms at either end of the corridor emptied of students and soon the hallway was packed with people who had been animatedly discussing all manner of subjects before falling silent at the scene before them.

Soon there was much muttering and then a voice called out "what is all this? what are you all doing here?".

The moody and unsociable Argus Filch pushed his way through the sea of the people.

Harry knew that the mans eyes had to have fixed upon his cat as Harry heard a loud howl of despair "Mrs Norris!".

Harry glanced over at the Caretaker and the mans eyes fixed on Harry "you did this!" he screeched as he reached out for Harry "I'll kill you" he said calmly and then grabbing Harry's robes he bellowed "I'll kill ya!".

"Argus!, take your hands off Mr Potter please" came the calm voice of Albus Dumbledore.

Harry silently breathed a sigh of relief knowing that if the Headmaster was there then everything would be alright.

* * *

Authors Note:

Well readers that's another chapter done. The next one will see more strange occurrences, the return of a certain House Elf and some investigation work by our favourite group of pranksters.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I make no profit from this, merely a fan writing about something I love

Chapter Thirteen: The Chamber of Secrets & Quidditch

"He did it, he should be punished!" Argus Filch screeched and tried to attack Harry.

He was thankfully restrained by Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall.

Severus looked at him, his face conveying his concern and he asked "are you alright Harry?".

Harry could not speak, he was in shock. Firstly from finding Mrs Norris dead or not dead (he couldn't tell) and then from Filches attempt to assault him.

His brain was struggling to process what was going on and all he could do in response to the question was shake his head a few times.

"Severus please take young Harry up to my office, you go with him Minerva and take young Draco along with you, I shall be there in a while after I have calmed Argus down" the ever calm Professor Dumbledore told his two Professors.

They nodded in reply and Harry felt a strong but gentle pull as he was guided down the corridor away from the scene of the tragedy.

Five minutes later he just registered the three of them step onto the swirling staircase that led up to the Headmasters Office.

He found himself being set down on a comfortable sofa conjured by Professor McGonagall and felt his brother patting him on the back in comfort.

He observed as Professor McGonagall then went to the fireplace, threw down some floo powder and called out "I wish to speak to Mr James Potter!".

Harry tuned out everything else as he felt a warm mug being placed into his hands that he had just realised were shaking.

"It'll be alright soon Harry" Professor Snapes calm and gentle voice told him reassuringly as he stood next to him.

There was then movement by the doors which Harry heard swing open. He turned to see who had entered and found Professor Dumbledore staring at him in concern.

"I managed to calm Mr Filch down" he informed no one in particular "I explained to him that whatever had happened young Harry could not have done it, I examined the cat myself and found she had been like it for several hours before she was found".

"A terrible business" Professor McGonagall said.

Professor Snape however snorted "I never did like that cat, nosy thing...although...I am worried that whatever or whoever did this may strike again" he added.

This was met with murmurs of agreement from the other two Professors.

Just then Harry heard the fireplace flare up and out stepped James followed by Lucy and Molly. Harry could tell by the looks on his parents faces that it had not been their choice to bring her along with her being so young but that given her headstrong ways had probably insisted.

"Oh Harry!" Molly exclaimed. His legs moved on their own as he stood up and walked a few places. He soon found himself being hugged full force by an orange haired blur "Mum and Dad told me something happened and I had to come and see you were alright".

Harry held onto her tightly. Feeling grateful for having such support.

Eventually they pulled apart and as she went to hug Draco, Harry's parents approached.

Harry could tell his mother had been crying while his Dad looked serious and he knew at once that Professor McGonagall must have told them about the incident in the corridor.

"Oh my poor baby!" Lucy cried out as she reached Harry and threw her arms around him.

Harry patted her arm awkwardly and looked at his Dad for help.

"Are you alright son?" his Dad asked him gently.

Harry shook his head but then added "I will be though, it was just the shock of seeing...seeing Mrs Norris...like that".

"I'm sure it was most distressing for you Harry, I must ask that you write an account of everything that you saw, it may be important if this sort of thing happens again" Dumbledore told him kindly.

Harry nodded. He had no problem writing it down. His mother however cut angrily "surely such a thing won't happen again Albus!, this is a school!" she said loudly.

The old wizard moved his arms in a shrugging motion "I cannot guarantee that it won't Lucy but I can assure you that your son is quite safe".

Lucy glared at these words but said nothing.

Harry committed his account to parchment and after several rounds of goodbyes his parents and sister left to return to Marauder Manor with promises to give Harry and Draco's best wishes to Remus, Peter, Celia, Sirius, Janice, David and their two House Elves.

Harry and Draco were silent as they walked back to Gryffindor Tower escorted by their Head of House. But as soon as the Professor left them in the common room they began to discuss it "the Chamber of Secrets" Draco said "never heard of it".

"Me neither" said Harry thinking hard "it must be important though given it's mention by whoever attacked Mrs Norris".

"Are you guys going to fill us in on everything or are we invisible?" quipped an amused Ron from a nearby sofa.

Several heads appeared revealing Hermione, Neville and Surprisingly enough...Ginny.

They were all looking curious as to what had gone on.

Harry and Draco sat down and spent the next twenty or so minutes telling them everything.

"Hmm, Chamber of Secrets" Hermione mused as she tapped a finger against her bottom lip "that name is familiar".

"Bet she read it somewhere" Neville cut in, grinning.

Hermione slapped him on the back of the head and returned to thinking. A moment later she shouted "eureka!", startling everybody else.

"Knew she'd get it quickly, a smart one is our Hermione" Harry said. This statement was met by various words of agreement to this.

"In Hogwarts a History there's chamber mentioned in chapter..." Hermione thought for a moment "chapter ten I think it is, it doesn't have too many details, it just mentions the rumour that someone built a chamber within the lower depths of the castle".

"Not much to go on, does it say who built it?" Draco asked.

Hermione shook her head in disappointment "no it's quite vague".

"We can always ask Professor Binns about it in our next History of Magic class" Neville suggested.

Everyone else laughed at this idea "would be a good idea Nev, if Binns actually paid attention to us" Ron said.

"What about Professor McGonagall?" Hermione put in "she knows everything about the castle".

The others agreed that it was a good idea and it was decided that they would ask their Head of House during their next Transfiguration class which, with the next day being the weekend, would not be until Monday.

* * *

That Monday seemed to drag on slowly for the New Marauders as they went through their routine of classes and break, classes and lunch before finally finding themselves in that days final class Transfiguration.

Harry had been able to think of nothing else other than this mythical chamber all day and he was sure that the others were the same. Especially Hermione who was naturally eager to learn and Neville who read a lot of books on history.

It was about five minutes into the class and McGonagall had just gone over their task for the lesson which was to change a mouse into a goblet with a prize of a bag of toffee's for the one who got nearest.

Harry was trying to think of a way to ask his question when a voice cut through the air "yes Mr Black". Harry looked over and saw his brother Draco holding his hand in the air evidently wanting to ask a question.

He was certain and was soon proved right that it was about the chamber.

"Professor we" he gestured to himself, Harry, Hermione, Neville and Ron who were all sitting on the same row of seats "if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets".

At these words Harry saw her turn pale and she spluttered out "the Chamber?" Draco nodded.

"Mr Black this is a class on Transfiguration not on legends or history" she said sharply.

"I understand that Professor" Draco began calmly "it's just that after last night with the writing on the wall we were curious about the legend and what you can tell us about it".

Professor McGonagall sighed, lowered her spectacles and pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked at Draco and then at the rest of the class who all seemed to be on the edge of their seats waiting for her to explain.

Even Ron who was not known to pay much attention when it came to work unless forced was sat up straight and waiting intently.

The Professor sighed again and replied "very well, I shall tell you what I know".

She surveyed the class and clasped her hands in front of her "well as you children may or may not know, this school was established one thousand years ago sometime in the nine hundreds AD by a group of very famous witches and wizards".

"Their names were Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin".

There were many nods especially from the pure bloods and half-blood students.

"It was their dream to bring those with the gift of magic together so that they might learn how to control their gifts, they decided to divide the school up based on what each of them valued, Helga Hufflepuff took students whose loyalty was beyond question".

Harry snorted at this as he remembered one Hufflepuff whose loyalty had been easily bought by a certain dark wizard.

Professor McGonagall gave him a sharp look but continued "Godric Gryffindor prized those of noble heart who were brave beyond all others".

Harry thought with a smile of his father and three uncles all of whom had been Gryffindors and had fought against Voldemort during the Wizarding War.

"Rowena Ravenclaw took those students of stout mind for whom learning was a passion" the Ravenclaws with who they shared a class cheered loudly at this.

Harry thought on his friend Luna Lovegood who usually had her nose in some book or other and agreed that this was an accurate assessment of most Ravenclaws.

"And Salazar Slytherin took those who like himself were cunning and astute, who did not commit themselves to a particular cause".

Professor McGonagall began to pace "one day, many years after the founding of the school, a rift developed between three of the founders and one of the others".

"No guesses on who that was" Ron murmured from his seat on Harry's left side.

Harry sniggered behind his hand at this while trying to pay attention.

"Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw believed that anyone who had the gift of magic should be given the opportunity to study at the castle and improve their skills and knowledge, Salazar Slytherin founder of Slytherin House however held a different view".

As the Professor spoke the next words she sounded disgusted "he believed that magic should be taught only to those who were what are termed pureblood, that is to say those born of two magical parents, in his view half-bloods and muggleborns did not deserve to learn".

There was much muttering at this for a moment which the Professor allowed to pass before continuing "this rift grew so great that Salazar Slytherin decided to leave the school and teach those of like mind in the ways of magic especially dark magic, before he left however..." she surveyed the class again "I must stress this is only a rumour...it is believed that he built a secret chamber in deep recesses of the school where only his true heir would find it...inside this chamber it is rumoured, dwells a creature of monstrous proportions".

Hermione had her hand up now "yes Miss Granger".

"I just wanted to ask Professor if the legend says what creature lives within the chamber", Professor McGonagall nodded "it is said to be home to a Basilisk".

Hermione gulped. She had read about such creatures and their abilities and had no wish to ever meet one.

"And that children, is the legend of the Chamber of Secrets, now let us return to the reason we are here which is today's assignment, if you will look on the board...".

The rest of the class seemed to fly by and in no time at all Harry and the others were heading for Gryffindor Tower to deposit their bags before dinner.

"That must be what you keep hearing that the rest of us don't Harry" Hermione said logically.

"What Hermione?" Ron asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes "a Basilisk Ronald!".

"Of course!" Draco added "your a parcelmouth so you can hear snakes thoughts and speech but we don't hear anything".

"Except a lot of hissing" Neville said with a shudder.

"Would make sense I suppose" Harry said ponderously "but if this creature lives in a chamber far below ground, how come it's not attacked any students before now and why is it that the no one's seen it".

"Good point Harry" Hermione said thoughtfully "after all, Basilisks aren't exactly small and from what I've read about them they are deadly to anyone who see's them".

"So we need to find out if anyone died mysteriously and if their death wasn't able to be explained" Ron said and his logical thinking surprised his friends.

"I think we need to do more research on this" Harry said decisively.

The other four voiced agreement on this and Neville had a suggestion "we can't exactly ask the other Professors about this but what about Hagrid?".

A light went on in Harry's head "of course!, that's a great idea Nev!".

"Yeah, he's been around here for practically forever, he's bound to know if something like this happened before" Draco said.

It was decided therefore by unanimous decision to visit Hagrid that weekend. They had been planing to head down their for tea anyway as they did every Saturday so this just gave them more reason to see him.

* * *

The week seemed to drag by very slowly. Classes seemed longer than ever and Harry was even enjoying Quidditch practice less these days as he thought more on the attack and the words written on the wall.

Finally and blissfully, the weekend rolled round and Saturday after at twelve found the New Marauders (minus Ginny and Luna) heading down to Hagrids cabin as the rain poured down heavily.

They shivered slightly as they stood by Hagrids front door and banged on several times.

From inside they could hear heavy moment as Hagrid put something down loudly and moved towards the door, his large boots making a clumping sound as he walked.

The door opened and Hagrid after taking one look at them said "come in, come in, ye look like a load a drowned rats!".

"We feel like it too" Harry said shivering slightly and ruing his decision not to wear his coat.

"Sit yourselves down and I'll fix that for ye" the half-giant said.

Once they were all seated around the large dining table Hagrid aimed his wand and muttered an incantation at each of them in turn. Soon the water was evaporating as steam rose off our their rapidly drying clothes.

"Thanks Hagrid" Harry said gratefully and the others chimed in with their thanks as well.

"So how's the week been? haven't seen you much this week" Hagrid said as he poured out six cups of tea "help yourselves to milk an sugar" he said placing the mugs in front of them.

They politely declined the offer of scones that Hagrid had baked having had experience of his cooking before. Harry could still recall the time last year when they visited him. He bit into a rock cake temporarily forgetting that Hagrid though a very nice man could not cook and had chipped a tooth.

"It's been pretty crazy to be honest" Draco said.

"Yeah, everyone's worried about Mrs Norris being petrified" Ron muttered as he put in six sugars.

Hagrid snorted "if anyone deserved it it was that mangy old cat, I still think it's part kneazle ye know" he said.

"That would make sense actually" Hermione put in as she added two spoonful's to her tea. Harry knew she didn't put much in because her parents being dentists wouldn't approve of it.

Hermione continued after stirring her tea "that cat is far too smart for a normal cat, it know's where people are, it can see and hear things that are even too much for normal cats".

"It's definitely got to be part magical" Neville said as declined sugar just adding a splash of milk.

"Anyway" Harry said "that's kind of what we wanted to talk to you about Hagrid".

Hagrid gave Harry a sharp look. He liked them coming to visit him. Got on very well with them and had know Harry and Draco since they were very young but they were very crafty. Very good at getting information out of him that he was supposed to keep secret or just wanted to keep quiet about.

"And just what sort of information would ye be wantin this time?" he asked suspiciously casting looks with his beetle black eyes at the others and then at Harry.

"We just wanted to know about the Chamber of Secrets" Ron said.

Hagrid making a choking noise and dropped the mug he'd been holding. It shattered loudly on the stone floor and spilled tea everywhere but the Game Keeper paid it no mind as he stared at the five youngsters.

"How...how did ye hear about that?" he asked in concern his voice cracking slightly in worry.

The five of them looked at their friend in confusion "why are you so worried Hagrid?" Hermione asked softly.

"M not worried!, course I'm not!" Hagrid said evasively.

"We just wanted to know if you'd heard anything about it" Neville said.

"Yeah" Harry added "but now I think you may have been there".

Hagrid stared in horror at the five young wizards for a moment and then sighed "look, the Chamber it's...it's real alright".

"Really?" Hermione asked in amazement.

Hagrid nodded sombrely "yeah and I was blamed for opening it at first" he said, his voice angry.

"Why would anyone think you were involved?" Neville asked incredulously.

"Well it's a couple a reasons really, the first is cause I've got some giant blood in me so some consider me a dark being".

"That's rubbish, anyone who thinks you're dark just hasn't got to know the real you!" Harry said forcefully.

Hagrid smiled at this but just continued on "the second reason is cause I have a love of what some folks call "dangerous creatures", I don't see what's so dangerous bout most of em".

The five New Marauders exchanged knowing looks at these words.

Hagrid was their friend and they respected him but they would never see eye to eye with him on creatures that he found exciting or interesting but they found downright terrifying.

Harry would never forget last year when Hagrid had won a dragons egg in a game of cards in the three broomsticks pub in Hogsmeade and had proceeded to hatch it out with mad notion of keeping it as a pet.

Thankfully they had persuaded him to send it to Charlies brother in Romania but had unfortunately been caught by Professor McGonagall.

Then there was the other occasions last year where they came into contact with the giant three headed dog that Hagrid had bought from a man down the pub and had ludicrously called Fluffy not seeing that it was terrifying monster and not the sort of thing to be a pet.

"Anyway, the Chamber itself was opened when I was still a student here, about..." they could see Hagrid thinking "forty eight years ago, the attacks got so bad they almost closed the school down".

"It was really THAT bad?" Draco asked, his eyes wide.

Hagrid nodded seriously "it was an awful time, just like now, everyone was on edge and the worst part of it was that no one knew who done it".

"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed.

Hagrids eyes turned hard as iron as he spoke the next words "I had a pet I bought from a travelling salesman it was an acromantula egg which I hatched out".

Everyone noticed Ron shudder at these words but he said nothing.

Harry knew that his friend was terrified of spiders and even just the thought of a giant spider had given Ron nightmares for weeks when Harry's godfather Sirius had told them a story featuring one.

"Then one day I'm feeding Aragog...".

"Aragog?" Harry cut in.

"Yeah that's what I named me pet Acromantula, I loved him I did, he was a great friend to me" Hagrid stared off into space for a moment before coming back to the present "anyway, a Prefect named Tom Riddle caught me, he was a Slytherin see, right slimy one, he told me I had to turn Aragog in, tried to put the blame on him for the attacks he did".

"We know it couldn't have been Aragog Hagrid" Harry assured their friend "acromantula's can't petrify people".

Hagrid nodded "exactly, but Tom he wanted some glory so he tried to kill Aragog, I stopped him and Aragog managed to reach the Forbidden Forest and hide there, the Headmaster back then Professor Dippet decided to expel me as Tom convinced him I'd set Aragog on the students".

"But your a fully qualified wizard Hagrid" Draco said in confusion "how did that happen if you got expelled?".

Hagrid grinned "Professor Dumbledore, he built up a case for my reinstatement as a student giving evidence to Dippet and the governers that it couldn't have been my pet or me as only certain creatures can petrify and in any case Aragog was always confined to the broom cupboard where I kept im".

Hagrid took a sip of tea "After that Dippet decided Riddle must have got it wrong and let me back in, Riddle even lost his special award for services to the school so I hear".

"It might have been him" Ron said with surprising wisdom.

"I see what you mean Ron" Hermione said with a beaming smile "he framed Hagrid to take away from the fact he'd done it".

"If that's true I'd like to wring his ruddy neck!" Hagrid said fiercely before shrugging "but unfortunately he disappeared a while after leaving school, turned up here once looking for a job but Professor Dumbledore said no".

"Do you know where this chamber is?" Harry asked his big friend feeling hopeful but to his disappointment the half-giant shook his head "sorry never seen it meself, it's just a feeling I have as to it's existence, if it was it would be sealed by now, I can't believe the same thing's happening again" Hagrid said.

'I wouldn't be so sure' Harry thought though he said nothing.

An hour later after having drank their fill of tea and given Hagrid all on their latest adventures they filed back up to the castle "you know" said Harry "I'm almost convinced this creature whether it's a basilisk or another type of reptile must be hidden in the chamber otherwise we'd see it".

"What we need to do is explore the castle from top to bottom, the chamber must be somewhere accessible for whoever's behind this to be able to get in there and use this creature" Hermione said.

Everyone else agreed with this assessment of things and so it was decided between the five of them to split into pairs and search the castle the following weekend after the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw.

* * *

The first week of November dragged by far too slowly for Harry's liking. The castle was all on edge as more attacks on students had taken place.

Many students from Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw were constantly muttering behind his back that he was the one who had opened the chamber due to his being caught at the scene of the attack on Mrs Norris.

That belief had only been solidified by his being able to talk to snakes and seemingly trying to set the snake on Justin Finch Fletchley in the Great Hall.

Harry recalled how just the other day he had confronted a group of Hufflepuffs including Ernie Macmillan in the library.

On that particular day he had been just trying to study but when he heard them whispering about his being involved in the attack and the legend of the chamber claimed the Heir meant the heir of Slytherin who had hated muggleborns.

He recalled the conversation in his head "I told Justin to hide away in our common room when not in class to keep him safe from Potter".

That had made Harry snap. He'd slammed his book shut, packed his school bag and turned the corner to where the other students were sitting.

"I'm not the Heir of bloody Slytherin!" he shouted at them "I'm just as upset over all this as you are, as for Justin I want to know where he is".

"Why!?" Ernie said sharply and with a touch of fear.

Harry sighed and through gritted teeth had replied "so I can explain everything of course".

"He's in our common room" one of the other Hufflepuffs had told him earning them a glare from Ernie.

Harry thanked the other Hufflepuff and left the library.

He had been halfway to the Hufflepuff's basement common room when in his haste he'd tripped over something stiff and unmoving.

He looked behind him in confusion and his stomach twisted violently in despair and horror.

Lying on the floor in a large puddle of water in front of the entrance to some toilets was the petrified body of Justin Finch Fletchley.

"No!" he'd shouted in horror.

Before he could get up a voice had growled "Potter, I got you this time".

It was Filch the caretaker.

"No Mr Filch it wasn't me!" he'd tried to say but his mouth was too dry.

"Save it for the Headmaster Potter, he'll have you out of here this time" he caretaker had said with glee.

Thankfully Professor Dumbledore had not believed he was responsible for the attacks and no further action was taken but that didn't stop most of the school from their mutterings and their insults and angrily confronting him.

The thing that angered him most about the whole situation was that he and his brother and friends were trying to find the chamber and resolve this mess before any more attacks occurred.

Harry was brought back to the present as he sat in the Great Hall that Saturday morning. The Saturday of their planned search.

Sitting with him, as usual, were Draco, Ron, Neville, Hermione and Ginny.

In a show of solidarity their friend Luna Lovegood of Ravenclaw was also sitting with them to show, in her words "I don't believe you're involved Harry".

Harry felt immensely grateful not just to her but to all his other friends and brother. All of them even The Twins Fred and George and Percy Weasley had been backing him up and surprisingly Percy's girlfriend Penelope Clearwater who had tried to talk some sense into her normally logical fellow Ravenclaws.

The group were finalising their plans for the search "so it's agreed then" Harry said (he'd been named leader of their group despite his obvious reluctance) "Me and Ginny will take the Dungeons and Floor One since Professor Snape won't mind me being there, Ron and Neville will take the Floor Seven and Six, Hermione and Draco will take Floor Five and Four and we'll all check Floors Three and Two together so we can report on what if anything we find".

With that decided the group finished their breakfast, left the Great Hall and began to search.

As Harry and Ginny walked alongside one another keeping a sharp lookout for any possible entrance to a secret chamber Ginny said something that made Harry realise they'd forgotten a very important detail "if we find the entrance how do we get in?".

They both halted and Harry stared at her. He wasn't angry or annoyed at her. He was kicking himself for not realising that such a chamber would be hidden away and as Salazar Slytherin built it then it would obviously have it's own secret way of entering.

"Damn it, I knew I forgot something!" he said as he sat on a bench in one of the First Floor corridors.

"Hey it's ok, you can't remember everything" Ginny reassured him.

Harry looked into her light brown eyes and said "it's nice of you to say Ginny but I messed up, even if we find the chamber we can't get in and deal with the creature".

"So? just means we'll have to do more research" she replied with a smile.

"Yeah you're right Ginny as always" his stomach felt tight with a sensation that felt like butterflies try to escape.

He didn't know why but he felt the urge to kiss her. He knew that Ron and his brothers would not take well to it but he couldn't help it.

He kissed her on the lips quickly and then looked away feeling angry at himself for having no self control.

He felt that he'd now probably ruined his friendship with her.

After all he doubted she felt the same way about him whatever it was he felt.

He was certain it was attraction but whether it was love he had no idea having not been in love before.

"I'm sorry Ginny I shouldn't have done that" he said miserably.

He felt her warm hand take hold of his and her other hand turn his face to hers. He saw that she was smiling widely and her eyes brimming with tears.

"I had no idea you felt something for me too" she said emotionally and kissed him briefly on the lips.

They embraced each other tightly and he breathed in the scent of her hair.

When they pulled apart he said "so you want to be more than just friends too?".

Ginny nodded happily "I've had a crush on you for years but I never thought you felt that way".

Harry grinned sheepishly "to be honest Gin, I didn't know what I was feeling, I've never felt attraction to anyone before and never wanted to be in a relationship or even date".

His face then fell.

Ginny had clearly seen this as she asked in concern "what is it? what's wrong?".

"Well your brothers and parents won't be thrilled will they?" he said despondently "they're bound to feel we're both too young and the same goes for my parents".

"So we just won't tell them until we think they are ready to accept it" Ginny said wisely.

Harry sighed "but how will we keep it from your brothers? I know Ron can be a bit dim at times Gin but he's my mate, my best mate and I don't know if I can keep it secret from him".

"Look Harry we're not doing anything wrong" she said fiercely and then added "if they find out then I'll just tell them that they should know you're a good person and will treat me right".

"I guess things will just work themselves out" Harry said heavily.

He got up and pulled Ginny up with him. The two of them set off again in search of the chamber.

* * *

With the castle being so big and there being many rooms to check, it was not until late afternoon when the six of them met up in the entrance hall to report that they had not found any hidden doorways or passages to any chamber.

Harry concluded that it must be somewhere no one would usually go given the lack of the chamber being open from the time it had previously been opened nearly fifty years ago and now.

Draco was the one who had the brainwave "it must be a bathroom of some sort".

"But most are well used" Ron said.

They thought for a while but were unable to think on anything new.

A search of the Second and Third Floors failed to turn up an entrance. Not that Harry was surprised by that.

Especially as they had no idea how to open it.

"We need to find out who the real heir is and how they open it, only then will we find the entrance" Hermione said voicing what most had been thinking.

"If I was going to put galleons on anyone being the heir it'd be Nott" Ron said.

Neville chimed in with his agreement as did Ginny but Draco and Hermione shook their heads and Draco said "it's not him, it's been opened before".

"So? that just means his Dad did it when he was here" Neville said coming to Ron's defence.

"The chamber was opened in 1943 you two" Hermione said as if they were stupid "Nott's father wasn't here as a student then he'd have already left".

"Oh and how do you know?" Ron said irritably "Mrs I Know Everything, how do you know he wasn't here!?".

Hermione now got angry as the argument escalated "because dung for brains, if you'd bothered to read who's who the guide to famous wizards you'd know that Nott's father Patroclus was born in 1920 which means he'd have left Hogwarts years before it was opened!".

"Hey don't call me stupid, I'll have you know..."

"Stop it now!" Harry said in a commanding voice that he didn't know he was even capable of.

Hermione and Ron stop shouting but continued to glare daggers at each other.

"This arguing is getting us nowhere, apologise to each other and lets come up with a plan" Harry said firmly.

Hermione's eyes softened "Harry's right, sorry for shouting at you Ron".

Ron shrugged "S' ok, I'm sorry too" he replied with a grin.

Harry and the others breathed a sigh of relief and once they had found and spoken to Luna a plan was formulated.

"We need to somehow speak to Nott and find out what he knows about all this" Harry said resolutely.

"He'd be most relaxed in his common room but we can't get in" Neville added.

"We could always hide under your cloak Harry" Ginny threw in.

"It wouldn't work" Luna said in her dreamy voice "there's always a few Slytherins near the Dungeons, whoever does it would be caught".

"Luna's right guys" Draco said "we need another way, is there any potions or anything we can use?".

"We could try Polyjuice Potion" Hermione said after thinking silently for a while.

Luna and Ginny not having studied that particular potion yet stared at her blankly while Harry and Ron grinned.

Both Draco and Neville looked apprehensive "uh guys" Neville said "isn't that potion...you know...dangerous?".

"Very" said Hermione "a lot could go wrong with the brewing or the ingredients and we've never brewed it before".

"It also takes a month to brew up" Draco added.

"That's true" Hermione said as she chewed her lip.

"A month!" Ron said loudly.

"Keep it down Ron!" Harry hissed. Ginny and Luna hit Ron on the arm.

"Ow!, sorry" Ron said as he rubbed his arm and glared at the two girls.

"It is a long time" Harry said thoughtfully "but..." he shrugged "unless anyone else can come up with a way of getting into the Slytherin common room it's the best we have".

He looked round at everyone "does anyone have a better idea?".

The other New Marauders shook their heads in the negative and Harry sighed heavily "then I guess we make the potion" he turned to Hermione and Draco "guys you make the potion, you're the best at brewing" the two did not contradict him and nodded.

"They should do it somewhere that no one find them" Ginny said interjecting.

"They could use the Second Floor girls bathroom" Luna said dreamily.

Ginny stared at her "but that's where that ghost Moaning Myrtle lives and she's a nightmare" she said to her best friend.

Luna smiled softly "she's not that bad, she's just lonely".

Harry had watched the discussion in puzzlement but now cut in "sorry girls but...who is Moaning Myrtle?" he asked.

Ginny turned to him "she's a student who died in the Second Floor girls bathroom a long time ago, she's really miserable and likes death and loves to talk about her own death".

"I've heard of her" Neville added "apparently no one knows who did it or how but a lot of students say she was killed by someone or some thing".

"Well I can't say I'd like to go in there but...if no one uses it..." Harry said slowly.

"Then no one will catch us brewing it!" Draco finished for him.

"I wish you two wouldn't do that" Ron moaned.

Ginny slapped him on the back of the head "ow!, quit hitting me!" Ron muttered in protest as he rubbed his head.

"There is just one snag" Hermione said.

Everyone turned to her. She looked very nervous "some of the ingredients can't be found in the students store cupboard so we'd have to get them from elsewhere".

Draco grinned, "I know where we can get them from without arousing suspicion" he cleared his throat and shouted "Dobby!".

In moments the excitable House Elf was standing in front of them bowing "Master Draco called for Dobby?" he said.

"Yeah Dobby, we need you get some potion supplies for us, without telling anyone at the Manor" he told the House Elf.

Dobby looked nervous "don't worry Dobby we aren't doing anything bad it's perfectly safe" Harry assured him.

"I understand Master Harry, I will go at once".

"Oh and Dobby" Draco said "use the money from my personal vault alright not the Black family one".

Dobby nodded as Hermione handed him a list of ingredients she had written out while they were talking.

"Goodbye all!" the House Elf called out and vanished with a pop.

Once he was gone Hermione said "and now the worst part".

Harry looked at her sharply "what do you mean WORST?" he asked.

"Well...see...the thing is..." she began only for Draco to spare her "we need a hair from the people we intent to impersonate" he told the others.

"So you are tell me I need one of Crabbe's hairs!" Ron said loudly.

"Keep your voice down!" Draco said "and yes you will if you are one of the one's coming along".

"That's something that will need to be discussed, more pressing is how we incapacitate Crabbe and Goyle long enough to take their hairs and add them to the potion and keep them away from Nott and the other Slytherins".

"Ah, I might have an idea" Neville said.

As everyone looked at him he said "we could use a strong sleeping draft on them, that would know them out for a few hours".

"But they'd never take anything from us" Ron said.

"I think they would if we put in food" Ginny said.

"Yes they do eat a lot" Luna added.

Harry grinned "so what we need to do then, is get some food from the kitchens and put some sleeping potion into them and leave them in plain sight".

"Near a broom cupboard preferably" Ron said showing his tactical awareness.

"Makes sense" Draco said "we can hide them easier".

"That's settled then" his face fell "but where do we get a sleep draft from?".

"The hospital wing obviously" Hermione said with an eye roll.

Harry looked at her in annoyance "I know that Mione but Madam Pomfrey watches that ward like a hawk, we'll need a distraction to get into the store cupboard and take what we need".

"We should meet up together tomorrow to discuss it all, we need to head to dinner" Draco said.

As if on cue Ron's stomach rumbled making them all laugh "come on guys, I don't think Ron will last!" Harry joked as they walked off.

One thing was for sure, Harry thought. It was going to be a busy old month getting this all ready.

* * *

Authors Note:

Hi all my great readers. Apologies for the extra long chapter. I wasn't quite sure where to end it.

In the next one we will see the plan coming together, another attack and Christmas so it will be a mix of action and fun.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Harry Potter & the Potter Universe belongs to JK Rowling & I make no profit from this.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello to all my marvellous readers, hope you are doing well. This chapter will have a brief section on Christmas but mostly goes through February and March.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: More Attacks, The Polyjuice Plan and Worry

Christmas time came and as with last year Harry and the New Marauders were heading home for the holidays.

Harry had heard many tales of Hogwarts Christmases and while he was sure they were enjoyable, he couldn't wait to get back home and see his parents, sister, brother and uncles and aunts, all of whom he had missed while at school.

Oh for sure he had written to them regularly and also spoke to Molly most days through the two way mirror but it wasn't the same as speaking to them in person.

He had another reason to be looking forward to Christmas as Christmas Day alternated between The Burrow and Marauder Manor and this year he would be experiencing a Weasley Christmas dinner.

He happened to think that Mrs Weasley's cooking was just as good as his mother and Uncles (his Dad could barely cook an egg) and he couldn't wait to see what she would conjure up this year.

It wasn't only for the cooking and seeing his family that he was glad to be going home though. As much as he loved Hogwarts, and indeed, after Marauder Manor and The Burrow it was like a home, he would be glad to be in his own bed and have more time to devote to collecting the ingredients needed for the potion.

The five eldest New Marauders would be involved with the plan but it had yet to be decided which three of them would infiltrate the Slytherin common room.

Hermione had been chosen of course but there had been disagreement between Harry, Draco, Ron and Neville which two of them would accompany her under the guises of Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

Finally the train steamed into the station and pulled to a stop alongside platform nine and three quarters.

"I bet Christmas dinner is as good as ever!" Ron said enthusiastically as Harry helped him drag his trunk off the train.

As they got back on to get Harry's, The Boy Who Lived said with a grin "bound to be mate, your Mum's an amazing cook".

Eventually all of The New Marauders were off the train and waiting by their luggage.

Harry observed Percy kissing his girlfriend Penny goodbye and shaking her parents hands.

"Here's my favourite Godson!" said a loud mirthful voice from nearby.

Harry turned towards the sound and grinned as he saw his favourite Uncle and Godfather Sirius Black standing there.

"I'm your only Godson!" he exclaimed with a laugh as he rushed into his Uncles arms. His Uncle hugged him tightly and whispered "missed you Prongslet".

After he broke the hug he greeted Draco even more enthusiastically and Harry heard their conversation "I hope you've been pranking".

"Not much" Draco admitted "we've been a bit...uh busy" he answered evasively.

Harry couldn't see but he was sure that Sirius now suspected something big was going on.

'Shut up!' Harry hissed through his mental link at his Brother.

Draco glanced over at him and gave him an apologetic smile.

"Why are you glaring at your Brother Harry?" Ron asked in confusion.

Harry sighed and gathered the others closer "Draco tried being evasive about...you know...the plan, but you know he's not a good liar".

"At least it's only Sirius" Neville said with a shrug.

Harry looked at him coolly "and what's that mean Nev?".

"Just that he's not very perceptive is he?".

Harry suddenly burst out laughing "no you're right there, I love him but he's really not".

"What's the joke then?" came a voice he'd not heard in months.

"Mum!" he shouted, whipping round.

Lucy was standing right behind him and gathered her Son into a bone crushing hug "I've missed you sweetheart, are you ok?" she asked him in concern.

His voice was muffled by his Mum's jumper "what was that?".

Lucy relinquished the hug "I said I'm fine Mum!" Harry said in amusement. His Mother looked at him sceptically.

He had written to her about the incident with the snake in the Great Hall the day after it had happened.

She had written back wanting to go to Hogwarts and see him but thankfully his Dad had convinced her otherwise.

By now Harry could hear more greetings as Mrs and Mrs Weasley, Mr and Mrs Granger and Mr and Mrs Longbottom arrived and the parents all began chatting as they and their children left the platform.

There was only one disappointing thing about Christmas that year. Hermione would be away. Her and her parents would be spending Christmas in Florida where her Dad's Brother and his family lived and thus she would not be there for Christmas day or for the gathering of potion ingredients "we'll be back before New Years Eve, let me know then how it's going" she'd told them all on the train after placing a silencing spell on the compartment door.

Harry was called back to the present by the voice of his Uncle "earth to Harry!, hey Prongslet, you ok?" Sirius asked in concern.

Harry grinned "sorry Padfoot, yeah I'm fine". Another thought came to mind then and he looked around the platform "Padfoot where's my Dad?" he asked.

Padfoot grinned wickedly "he's stuck at the office, filling in paperwork, Moony's here though and Wormtail, they're waiting by the car".

Harry grinned at this and watched on as his Uncle shrunk his trunk to pocket size and placed it in his jacket pocket.

Padfoot on one side, Lucy on the other, Harry and Draco walked to the exit after a quick goodbye to the friends, promising to Ron and Neville they'd see them soon and Hermione that they'd write to her.

The journey back to Marauder Manor was uneventful but long and when the magically enlarged morris minor pulled up to the front door of the Manor House Harry was grateful to get out and stretch his legs.

He was just breathing in the fresh country air when an orange haired blur slammed into him at speed, knocking him off his feet "Harry!" his Sister Molly called out happily.

Harry groaned slightly before laughing "god Moll's don't do that, you're getting too big".

She smacked his arm before breaking into laughter herself "hey!" came the indignant voice of Draco "what about your other Brother".

Molly got up pulling Harry with her and without warning jumped at Draco knocking him to the ground.

Harry was unable to say anything, so paralysed was he with laughter "well you did say you wanted a greeting" he sniggered as his Brother lay on the ground groaning.

Still sniggering he strolled over to them and helped Draco up.

"In all serious Moll's" said Draco "it's great to see you again, we missed you, didn't we Harry" he said casting a glance at his Brother.

Harry nodded, smiling broadly "of course we did, nothing like plotting a prank with our little Sis eh Draco".

"Indeed my dear Harry, indeed".

Laughing, the three of them headed inside to meet the rest of their family.

* * *

It was mid way through the Christmas holidays with Christmas day having come and gone, before the group were able to speak to the very person they knew would help them "Uncle Wormy" Harry began as his Uncle sat in an armchair reading a book.

Peter closed the book, set it on a side table and glanced over at Harry and Draco, his gaze questioning "yes?" he said.

Harry suddenly wondered if this was a good idea. Of course their Uncle had helped with many pranks down the years but this was no mere prank. They were brewing a potion illegally and with intent to trespass.

His Brother however was undeterred "Uncle Wormy, we need to make a potion but we need help getting the ingredients".

At once their Uncle voiced the very question that Harry knew had been in his head "I'm assuming this isn't for coursework" he said perceptively.

Harry was tempted to lie but decided that that would be a bad idea "we need to get into the Slytherin common room to get some information and to do it we need..." he wondered how to say it but again Draco cut in.

"We need to brew Polyjuice potion and need some more ingredients".

Peter gaped at them in shock for a moment before springing into action.

He sprang from his chair and cast a silencing charm on the doorway before shutting the door to his study.

He then stared from one to the other looking more serious than either had ever seen him "do you have any idea what you are asking?" he said "this is a dangerous potion, not some idle prank, if this goes wrong and I help you, Prongs and Padfoot would kill me and I'm sure Moony, Lucy and Janice wouldn't be far behind!".

Harry had a sudden inspiration "you four were doing more illegal stuff in your fourth year when you became Animagi" he said accusingly.

His Uncles stern look deflated somewhat "true" he conceded. Sighing, he ran a hand through his head of thick hair and said as if he knew it was a bad idea "alright, I'll help".

He waggled a finger in their faces "but if it goes wrong, you don't say I was involved, I also want you to read a book on the making of the potion and the risks so you are prepared".

Harry and Draco were both so happy at his agreeing to help that they would have said yes to anything and were soon leaving their Uncles study, book in hand and a promise from him that the remaining ingredients they needed would be in their trunks before the new school year.

* * *

January the 4th arrived and Harry, checking his trunk smiled as he plucked out the potions ingredients wrapped up securely and a little note which simply said "please be careful, love Uncle Wormtail".

He replaced the ingredients near the lower half of his trunk just in time as there came a knock on his bedroom door and his Mum entered.

"Just doing my usual prank supplies check" she said as she began to search.

Twenty minutes later and she was done.

Harry would be forever grateful to his Dad for adding the secret compartment in which his prank supplies were held and where he had stored the polyjuice ingredients.

Before Harry knew it he was having another tearful goodbye with his Parents, Siblings and Uncles as he boarded the train back to Hogwarts.

* * *

January passed in a haze of classes, Quidditch practice and the secret potion brewing and before anyone knew it February had crept up on them.

It was the first Sunday in February and Harry, Ron and Neville were just leaving the library with Ginny and Luna when a panting Hermione and a smirking Draco came up to them "it's ready" was all Hermione managed to say.

The seven of them hurried off to the deserted girls toilet in where they had been brewing the potion.

A quick drawing of straws had been devised by Draco to see who was chosen.

Much to their disappointment, Draco, Neville, Luna and Ginny were ruled out, leaving Harry and Ron to join Hermione in taking the potion.

Before they could take however they needed to get Nott's goons Crabbe and Goyle out of the way.

It had been Neville's idea to take some cupcakes baked by the Hogwarts House Elves and added some sleeping draught to them.

That afternoon the cupcakes were in place, hovering near a broom cupboard near the hall.

Harry, Ron, Draco and Neville observed as their two gormless targets exited the hall and stopped in evident puzzlement at the sight of two floating cakes.

Harry grinned widely and heard his Brother and best friends stifling laughs as Crabbe and Goyle's hunger overcame any suspicion and the two boys happily chomped away on the sweet treats.

Beside him Ron began a count "ten, nine, eight, seven.."

Draco picked it up "six, five, four..."

Neville finished "three, two, one".

Two very audible and heavy thuds resounded in the entrance hall.

After checking the coast was clear, the four boys headed over to the snoring Slytherins and endeavoured to move them.

It was no easy feat given their bulk but despite much huffing and puffing and groaning, they soon had the other two boys stashed in a nearby broom cupboard.

With this accomplished, Neville and Draco wished Harry and Ron good luck and hot footed it back to Gryffindor Tower to await the results of the plan.

In no time at all Harry and Ron found themselves back in the disused girls toilets and Harry called out to their friend "Mione it's us".

There was much banging and a loud sobbing coming from one of the stalls.

"Mione, what's wrong?" Ron called out.

Suddenly there was a loud whooshing sound and the least welcome ghost at Hogwarts appeared before them. It was Moaning Myrtle.

She was so called due to being the most miserable ghost in the entire castle.

Even Sir Nicholas was happier than her, Harry thought. And he'd had his head near hacked off.

"Ooh it's awful!" the ghost shrieked in delight.

Harry scowled at her "what is?" he asked.

"She's all hairy!" Myrtle exclaimed happily before flying off.

Sighing, Harry tried the cubicle door. It was locked.

"Mione, we took care of Crabbe and Goyle and we got the hair, come out!".

"No, you go without me!, I...I'm not feeling well".

Harry cast a confused glance at Ron who shrugged helplessly.

"Mione open the door please!" he said.

After a long silence, the the lock clicked and the door opened slowly.

Harry couldn't help the gasp of surprise that came out.

Hermione's head, arms and probably elsewhere were covered in a thick fur and just visible from the back was a tail.

"Oh god, Mione what happened?" Ron said in shock.

Hermione sighed "I got what I thought was a hair from Milicent Bullstrode".

"But it wasn't" Harry guessed.

Hermione nodded miserably "it was her cats!" she exclaimed.

"Of course!" Harry slapped a hand to his forehead "the potion is only meant for human to human change not to an animal".

"That's why you need to go on your own you two" Hermione said sounding more authoritative "I'll be no use to you like this".

After reassuring her they'd get help for her later, they left and headed for the dungeons.

* * *

That night Harry lamented the foolishness of the whole thing. Months wasted planning, brewing the potion and grilling Nott and it turned out the arrogant prat wasn't the heir of Slytherin after all and worse still had no idea who was.

Even worse than all that was that Hermione was stuck in the hospital wing under the care of the formidable Madam Pomfrey due to a transformation gone wrong.

The one comfort they had was that due to medical ethics Madam Pomfrey would not tell anyone.

Harry let out of breath of annoyance as he lay in bed "who could it be?" he asked the silent, dark room and got no reply.

* * *

It was soon after this incident that the attacks started up again once again the castle was on edge. Everyone looking nervously around.

Harry had been dismayed to learn that the Quidditch season had been cancelled as a safety precaution and irritated to learn that from now on all students would be escorted to class by a prefect or teacher.

It was one day near the end of the month as Harry had just been escorted back from the library to Gryffindor Tower by Percy when he spotted their Head of House Professor McGonagall.

He noted that the normally stern Professor looked emotional about something and was looking at him sympathetically as he approached.

Harry's first thought was that something had happened at home.

"What's happened Professor?" he asked, heart in mouth.

The Professor put a hand on his shoulder and said in strained voice "come with me Harry".

This alone made Harry freeze in despair. She never used his first name unless something awful had happened.

* * *

As teacher and student reached the hospital wing Harry found all his friends there and his girlfriend Ginny (though this was secret).

Taking note of who was there and who was not Harry let out a gasp of anguish "no!" he shouted as Ginny grabbed him in a tight hug.

Tears rolled silently down his cheeks as he was led through the hospital wing to a bed near the far right hand side on the end.

The curtains were closed and a figure with black curly hair emerged as Harry drew near.

"Uncle Sirius!" Harry exclaimed.

His Uncle looked strained and Harry could tell his normally jovial Uncle had been crying.

Tears now formed in Harry's own eyes as he allowed his Uncle to wrap him up in a warm hug and whisper words of comfort to him. He dimly felt tear drops falling from his Uncles eyes splash onto his robes.

"Not Draco, not Draco" Harry muttered over and over.

He was soon brought behind the screens to gaze on his Brother who stared up rigidly at the ceiling, his eyes frozen in place.

There no sign of life whatsoever. It was as if he was frozen in time.

Harry placed his hand on his Brothers arm and sobbed even harder.

After a while anger and a grim determination gave way to despair and Harry whispered "I'll fix this Brother I swear it, the creature that did this is dead!".

* * *

It was halfway through the month of March and Harry was feeling very frustrated. He had been so set on the task of finding the Chamber and dealing with the monster on top of worrying about his Brother who was still lying petrified in the hospital wing. So set on eliminating the creature that he had been neglecting his own wellbeing only eating after being forced to by his friends.

For the past few weeks ever since Draco had been hurt, he had been unable to sleep properly and had taken to sleeping in the common room most nights near the roaring fire.

Everyone had been roped into the task of locating the Chamber but to no avail.

And this is what had Harry so frustrated at this particular moment as he looked at the Marauders Map that had been made by his Father and Uncles.

Despite checking every bathroom in the school and even making a dangerous sortie to the Slytherin common room where the entrance to Slytherins Chamber could reasonably have been found, they had found nothing. Not a single sign that there was a Chamber entrance.

Harry was dimly aware as his tired eyes gazed at the map, of a argument going on between Ron and Neville which Ginny was doing her best to stop before it got out of hand.

"Please just shut up!" he shouted eventually, his patience slipping.

Next to him, his friends fell silent and Ginny gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. He was sure she was glaring at the two other boys.

Harry heard the portrait hole open and soon found himself face to face with Fred and George Weasley.

It took him a moment to register that their usual cheerful faces were masks of sorrow now.

Harry sighed as he realised there were only two other people not here. Luna was in her common room so it had to be Hermione.

To weary to even rage about it or get upset he followed them down to the hospital wing with his friends close by.

No one said a word as they met Percy there.

"I'm sorry Harry, she..." his voice cracked and Harry realised something must have happened to someone he cared about "Hermione, she's been petrified along with...Penelope".

The normally calm Percy began to weep now as his startled twin Brothers comforted him.

"We have to go and see Lockhart" Harry said, feeling oddly calm.

Ron frowned "but you said he was a fraud".

Harry sighed. Removing his glasses he rubbed a hand over his tired eyes and then replaced them "I know what I said Ron but he's the Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, he can't be totally useless".

He was sure Ron and Neville didn't agree but all the same they came with him to the DADA classroom.

Harry knocked and heard "enter".

He opened the door and peered in. Lockhart was as usual sat at his desk and as usual to Harry's irritation was answering fan mail and signing photographs 'he's meant to be a bloody teacher!' he thought furiously.

"Professor, we were wondering if any progress had been made over finding the culprit that released the monster" he said as he moved towards the desk.

"Alas I'm afraid not young Harry, it's a complete mystery".

Harry felt frustrated "but you must know something!" he almost shouted.

Lockhart laughed lightly "Harry, Harry, Harry, calm down, the staff are doing all we can to find the person responsible and we'll have them soon I assure you".

Harry wanted to throttle the idiot but squashed it down "Professor if you find anything please, please, let us know immediately".

Lockhart nodded "of course, the least I can do" he said cheerfully.

Harry sighing inwardly left the office feeling that once again precious time had been wasted.

Gilderoy Lockhart meanwhile had opened a certain diary and was writing in it again "the plan is working, soon we will be ready to lure him into the Chamber and deal with him".

The words on the page vanished replaced with just one word in reply "excellent".

* * *

As April arrived bright but still fairly cold, Harry had no more time to devote to finding secret Chambers or whoever was behind it all.

Exam time was approaching and Harry and his year mates were being worked harder than ever with coursework, homework and revision in preparation.

Privately, Harry couldn't see the point of it all, the exams felt so long away and he wanted to do something to help.

"I know you want to sort this out Harry" said Professor Snape one day at the end of a Potions class where everything just seemed to go wrong "but you need to concentrate on your studies, Hermione and Draco would not want you this miserable, you know that".

"I know Uncle Sev it's just that...well...they've always been there for me, helped me out, cheered me up and I feel useless, I tried to find the Chamber you know?".

"You said Harry" Professor Snape said patting his back reassuringly.

* * *

May approached and to take his mind off of the situation in the castle Harry decided to visit Hagrid who he knew would cheer him up.

The visit however did not go as he'd hoped.

In the first place it was past curfew when he'd sneaked out underneath his invisibility cloak and in the second place, the half-giant groundskeeper hit the roof when he found out what Harry had done "wha are ye doin ere Arry!" he shouted as he found Harry at the door.

"Hoping to come in" Harry answered a bit cheekily.

Hagrid glared at him but let him in all the same, shutting the door quickly to ensure that no one saw him.

He made Harry a cup of tea and set it in front of the second year, looking at him piercingly "well?" he said "wha was so important tha it couldn wait until the mornin?".

Harry sighed as his hands gripped the warm mug "I'm just so miserable Hagrid" he confessed "all these people are being attacked, I can't find the bloody Chamber or who's behind it and on top of that my best friend and brother are lying unconscious in the hospital wing" he snorted "and yet the Professors want me to carry on studying, like there's any point".

Hagrids expression softened and after clearing his throat he said "Harry, it's not up to ye to save the world, not yet anyway, I know it's hard to be enjoying yourself with all tha's going on but ye have ta, for Draco and Hermione's sakes if not for yours".

Harry breathed deeply as the steam from the mug wafted into his nostrils "I know Hagrid" he said with a shaky smile "you're right".

Just as he was about to take a sip of tea there was a loud banging on the door.

Harry's heart dropped into his shoes as Hagrids face was temporarily frozen in surprise. After a moment the half-giant seized the invisibility cloak, threw it to Harry and said calmly "go over to the back door, put the cloak on and keep quiet, I'll see who it is".

Harry didn't need telling twice and ran for the back door.

Once he was hidden, Hagrid moved to open the door. Harry could tell by the tone of his friends voice that whoever was on the other side, was not welcome at all "what are you doing here, get away from my house!" Hagrid said angrily.

Harry watched on as a fat man with short hair and twirling an ornate ivory cane, entered the hut. He felt his anger building up as he glared at Patroclus Nott the Father of his nemesis.

"A house? you call this a house?" the man said derisively as he looked around.

"I said what..." Hagrid began again only for Mr Nott to cut him off "my dear man I have no wish to be here at all and would not if not for school business, you do know I'm on the board I presume".

From what Harry could see his large friend was a second away from hitting the snob and probably would have done so if not for the second visitor "Professor Dumbledore Sir" Hagrid said respectfully.

"Good evening Hagrid" the old wizard replied cheerfully.

In behind him came the Minister for Magic herself Amelia Bones "good evening Mr Hagrid" she said politely but with a touch of regret in here tone that Harry did not like.

"Good evening Minister please sit down".

"Thank you no" she said "I'm here because I have a regretful duty to perform" Harry could tell she did not agree with this duty "I am here to arrest you Mr Hagrid and take to Azkaban Prison until such time...".

Hagrid cut her off as he howled in despair "no Minister please, not Azkaban! please, I've not done nothin!" he howled.

Minister Bones looked upset herself "I'm sorry Mr Hagrid but your past goes against you, the Wizengamot has charged me with taking you into custody to prevent any more of these attacks on students, they believe you are responsible".

"I want it completely understood Minister that I decry this course of action and that Hagrid has my complete support and trust".

"It is noted Professor Dumbledore thank you" she responded.

Two Aurors both of whom Harry recognised as being Kingsley Shacklebolt and John Dawlish, strode into the hut and placed cuffs around Hagrids wrists.

Before they could lead him out, Patroclus Nott strode cockily up to Professor Dumbledore and handed him a scroll of parchment "and what is this Mr Nott?", the old wizard asked calmly.

"That my dear Professor Dumbledore is a document signed by all of the Hogwarts Governors for the removal of yourself as Headmaster of Hogwarts".

Harry only just stopped himself from crying out in shock. Not Professor Dumbledore!.

"We feel you are two old to carry on and the handling of this crisis as well as the events of last year are proof of this".

Harry saw Professor Dumbledore's calm mask crack for a moment "and this is the will of you all?" he asked.

Smugly Mr Nott reply "it is, the running of the school shall pass **temporarily **to your Deputy Professor McGonagall until we appoint a New Headmaster".

Professor Dumbledore sighed "if it is the will of the Governors then I shall stand aside".

"NO!" cried Hagrid from the doorway where the two Aurors were struggling to hold him "you can't get rid of im!, this place'll be defenceless, there'll be killin's next!".

"Hagrid calm yourself, I'm sure all of this will be sorted out soon and remember..." Dumbledore's eyes had found Harry "help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it".

And with that the group of people left.

Harry hurried as fast as he reasonably could back to the castle and the Gryffindor common room.

He had to tell the others!.

* * *

"But that's madness!" Ron cried out when Harry told them the news.

"Yeah, Hagrid wouldn't hurt a fly and Dumbledore's keeping us safe!" Neville added in indignation.

Harry and Ginny both nodded.

Needless to say they all felt furious over the whole incident.

Harry wanted nothing more than to punch Mr Nott in his stupid arrogant face but he couldn't.

That however was not the case with a certain Slytherin second year.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, Harry was attempting to force down some porridge when an unwelcome voice in his ear said "well, well, well, look who aren't here this morning".

The voice sounded so cheerful that Harry simply wanted to grab Nott and slam his face into the porridge bowl.

"Go away Nott, you don't want to test me this morning" he said in a calmer voice than he felt.

"Oh is poor Potter gonna cry?" the boy replied simperingly "oh poor Potters friends, you don't have much luck do ya Potter?".

Harry breathed deeply and continued trying to ignore him.

Patience however only goes so far, finally Nott said something that Harry just couldn't help reacting to.

"Maybe the reason the the Mudblood Granger and your Blood Traitor Brother are really in the hospital wing is to get away from you".

The red mist descended. Harry swung round, his hand balled into a fist.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Nott was on the floor near the Gryffindor table with blood flowing from his nose and down his robes and Harry had flicked out his wand and was on the verge of uttering a spell when a loud voice cut through the clamour.

"Stop this at once!".

Professor McGonagall had reached the Gryffindor table and she was livid.

"Can't you two put aside your feud for one moment!" she said furiously.

Turning to Crabbe and Goyle she snapped "take him to the hospital wing now!".

The two boys were so nervous they hauled up their fallen leader and fled with him from the hall.

Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and through gritted teeth said "my office, Potter, now!".

Harry, still feeling angry, picked up his school bag and slung it over his shoulder as he followed the irate Professor from the hall.

* * *

"How many times do I have to go over this Potter?" McGonagall said exasperatedly, running a hand through her hair.

"You're a good student, you work hard, you help people out and you're very considerate, why do you let Nott get under your skin like this?".

"I can't stand his beliefs!" Harry admitted at last "he's arrogant, his selfish and he views anyone not Pureblood as less than human!".

"Potter, there are people in this world a lot worse than him, you must put aside this petty feud and in future ignore his insults, do you understand?".

Harry gritted his teeth and responded "yes".

"What was that Harry?".

Harry sighed "yes Professor".

"Very good Harry, now, ten points from Gryffindor I think and a weeks worth of detention".

Harry felt outraged but knowing the Professor as he did, knew that she would not change her mind and so he just accepted it.

* * *

'Of all the people to serve detention with' Harry lamented bitterly 'why does it have to be this pompous, lying buffoon?'.

These thoughts ran through Harry's mind as he sat next to Gilderoy Lockhart helping to answer fan mail and sign autographs for the twit.

"I know you enjoy doing this Harry but you really must stop getting detention just for this" Lockhart told him brightly as they started in on a new stack of photographs.

Harry sighed wearily.

It was then that he noticed a book...no...it wasn't a book...it was a diary. In fact it wasn't just any diary. It was the same one that Lockhart had taken from him near the start of the school year claiming he would deal with whatever was going on with it.

Harry frowned. Surely the diary should have been disposed of by now. He couldn't the question that sprang forth from his lips "Professor, why is that diary still here?".

"Diary dear boy?" Lockhart answered distractedly.

Harry picked it up to show him "this one Professor, I thought you said...". Lockhart snatched the diary with lightning quickness and said irritably "detention is over now Harry, you may leave, goodnight".

Harry, feeling thoroughly confused, exited the classroom and hurried back to the tower wondering just what had gotten in to the Professor.

It was a question that would bug him for weeks afterwards.

* * *

Hello there readers. Coming up next is the final chapter of Second Year and will go through May and June.

Hope you are all enjoying the story so far and remember that reviews are much appreciated.

See you all in Chapter Fifteen: Exams, Tom Marvolo Riddle & The Tragedy of Gilderoy Lockhart


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: All Characters you recognise belong to JK Rowling. I only own Lucy, Janice, Molly, David & Celia

* * *

Authors Note: Hello everyone. This is last Chapter for Second Year and it will be quite action packed. Hope you all enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: The Battle in The Chamber

May rolled around sunny and warm. Inside however, Harry didn't feel warm at all. He was just about managing to concentrate on his school work and to revise for his exams but he was struggling.

He felt immense, irrational feelings of guilt and anger at himself for not being there to keep his Friend and Brother safe. For not protecting them from this monster.

The rational part of his brain of course, knew that he couldn't really have done anything and that if he had been with them he would likely have just been petrified as well.

It was Ron surprisingly enough who'd hit him with a burst of logic.

It had been a week after Hermione had been found petrified and Harry as expected had not been eating or sleeping properly and had not taken joy in anything.

Ron had waylaid him in the Gryffindor common room one morning while the rest of the students were either still sound asleep or were having breakfast "this can't go on Harry" he'd said calmly.

Knowing what he'd meant, Harry had spun round fully prepared for a fight "what can't go on?" he'd asked aggressively.

Ron had gestured at him "this self hatred, this dwelling on things that can't be changed".

"I could have saved them Ron!" he'd said louder than he intended as his voice had cracked with emotion "I could have stopped that creature, could have...could have...".

"Could have what?" Ron had cut in "the only thing that would have happened is that you'd have gotten petrified too".

Harry had shaken his head not ready to admit he could do nothing "that's...that's not true" he said.

"Yes it is Harry!" Ron had shouted "you bloody well know it is!, you'd have got hurt or even killed!" now Ron's voice had broken with emotion "you don't think sometimes about the rest of us do you?".

"What have you got to do with it!?" Harry had shouted back in anger.

"Because we all love you you prat!" Ron had yelled at the top of his voice as tears had rolled down his freckled cheeks.

Harry had fallen silent in shock as if this had never occurred to him. Ron had continued "Me, Nev and Luna we all think of you as like a Brother and even though Ginny's young I know she thinks of you as something more".

Harry had opened his mouth to protest only for Ron to hold up a hand silencing him "don't deny it Harry, she's always had this crush on you and I've seen you two together, the hugs last longer than the rest of ours, I know there's something going on, but you know what? I'm not mad because I know even though you are an idiot sometimes you'd never hurt her".

Harry had said nothing to this "that's why you need to stop this self pitying and realise there's nothing you could have done and you need to think carefully about what you really want, do you want to be a hero that dies before his time? or do you want to be a friend, boyfriend and brother who lives and loves?".

As Harry remembered the conversation he realised he needed to come out of this funk. It wasn't what Draco and Hermione would want and in any case he needed to be there for his remaining friends who were taking it just as bad as him.

What made the situation at Hogwarts worse than anything, worse than Quidditch being cancelled, worse than having to everywhere with a Prefect, was not being able to visit Hagrid.

Harry had heard that the half-giant had refused to move up to the castle despite attempts by both Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore.

Thus, on top of worrying about everything else he also now worried for Hagrid and his safety.

* * *

Harry and his friends had just rounded a corner with Percy Weasley when they found themselves rooted to the spot as they saw writing on the corridor wall that chilled their blood all the way to the bone.

Words had been written in blood that read "Her Bones Shall Dwell In The Chamber For Ever".

Harry knew that they had to speak to a teacher about this and so with Ron and Neville in tow, ignoring the shouts of Percy that it wasn't safe and to come back, they flew down the corridor around various corner and up a flight of steps before finally reaching the Staff Room.

They paused for a moment to get their breath back and then Neville knocked on the door for them.

Hearing no answer, Neville pushed it open and stepped inside closely followed by Harry and Ron who looked around the room.

They didn't have long to take in the room before they heard footsteps outside in the corridor and voices, "have you seen the writing on the wall?", it was the voice of Harry's Uncle Sev.

The three Second Years afraid of getting in trouble for being out of bounds, clapped eyes on an old wardrobe in a corner of the room and without so much as a spoken word, agreed to hide in it.

They pelted across the room at lightning speed and had the wardrobe door safely closed before the Professors could enter.

They had enough sense to leave it open a crack for some air and to hear the conversation in case it yielded any new information.

They saw Professor's Snape and McGonagall take seats in an armchair.

Tiny Professor Flitwick entered next. Professor Snape made them all some coffee (in McGonagall's case, tea).

Once they were all seated Flitwick asked "what's all that writing doing on the wall in that corridor then?".

Professor McGonagall sighed heavily. It was the sigh of someone who was being crushed under a weight of emotions "that is no mere writing Filius, a student has been taken down into the Chamber wherever this Chamber is".

"But surely that's just a legend?" Professor Flitwick squeaked.

Professor Snape shook his head "no I'm afraid not Filius, the Chamber does exist, we just can't find the damn location" he said in frustration.

"I would bet" Professor McGonagall said "that the Chamber can only be accessed by someone who can speak Parceltongue, especially with it being not opened for so long".

This received nods of agreement. The conversation then turned to the serious matter of who had been taken down into the Chamber.

Given Professor McGonagall's evident emotional state it was clear to the three boys that it had to be a fellow Gryffindor.

What she said next made Harry feel like his heart had stopped beating "just who has been taken into the Chamber?" Flitwick asked as he put his mug to his lips and took a sip of coffee.

"Ginny Weasley" McGonagall replied in an oddly choked voice.

Professor Flitwick spat his coffee out as if it had scolded him.

Harry's heart felt like it had ceased to beat, he was having trouble breathing and his stomach ached painfully as if a horde of flobberworms were trying to escape.

Beside him he felt Ron slide down the wardrobe until he was sitting on the floor.

He took his eyes away from the Professors and crouched down with Neville. They both gathered their best friend into a tight hug and tried to comfort him as the normally composed Ron bawled his eyes out in despair.

Harry felt like crying himself but he knew he had to stay strong this time. Ron needed him.

He was so focused on looking after Ron that he almost missed what was said next "I am afraid that the Board of Governors and the Ministry have weighed in and despite my best efforts have decided..." her voice cracked "have decided to close Hogwarts, all students are to catch the Hogwarts Express tomorrow morning".

'This can't be happening!' Harry's brain screamed 'they can't close the school, what about Ginny?, I love her, I can't lose her like this!'.

After half an hour, the Staff Room was empty again and the three boys left.

After they had been walking for just a short time, Ron slid down against a wall and said in a voice half mad with desperation "I have to find Ginny! have to find her! can't leave her here!".

Harry knew there was only one thing do in a situation such as this. Roughly grasping his friends shoulders he began to shake him and shouted "Ron, Ron, Ron!".

Ron just kept muttering. He didn't seem to know that either Harry or Neville were there "Ron! RON!" Harry and Neville yelled in unison as loud as they could.

This seemed to penetrate Ron's consciousness and he looked up at the two of them, his eyes brimming with tears "I have to find her guys, I can't leave her down there" he said hoarsely.

"You won't, we'll help find her and finish this once and for all, right Nev?" Harry said.

Beside him, Neville nodded and added "we're with you mate, one hundred per cent".

At these words Ron's face broke into a shaky grin and he said "well what are we waiting for?".

"Shouldn't we speak to Lockhart first?" Neville asked.

Harry shook his head "no, he's a fraud, he wouldn't have the first clue about finding the Chamber and if he did he'd probably run away in terror".

The three of them laughed at his.

Harry was then struck by a sudden idea, "hey guys, why don't we ask Myrtle?" he said.

His friends looked at him dubiously "I don't see what help she'd be Harry" Ron said.

"But Ron I've just remembered something Hermione told me about the last time the Chamber was opened, it was opened in 1943 and that was the same year that Myrtle was killed!".

Ron and Neville's eyes widened in surprise at this as they grasped the implications "so you think..." Ron began.

"If you're right Harry...there's not a moment to lose" said Neville and the three of them ran at break neck speed through corridors and down stairs until they reached a certain girls bathroom that contained the ghost of one Moaning Myrtle.

As they entered the room Harry called out "Myrtle? Myrtle are you here?".

In moments there was a great whooshing sound, a splash of water from the toilet and Myrtle appeared floating before them looking her usual miserable self.

"Well, what do you want?" she said sharply.

Harry wasn't sure how to phrase this question delicately and as he was trying Ron cut in impatiently "we need you to tell us how you died" he said.

Harry and Neville glared at him for his tactlessness only to be surprised when Myrtles ghostly face cracked into a wide smile "oh it was awful!" she shrieked happily.

Getting comfortable the three boys waited and she spoke again "I was in here crying, I'd hid in here because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The next thing I here is the door opening and a boys voice, I could hear him talking in a strange language that I didn't understand, so I opened the stall door to tell him to go away!, I saw a pair of yellow eyes flash at me and then..." she shrugged "I died" she pointed to the ground of the stall where she currently was "right here in this stall".

"But that means..." Harry began and he smacked a hand to his forehead "oh you idiot, you stupid fool!" he said harshly.

He could see that Myrtle was about to get offended and quickly added "not you Myrtle!, me!".

"You? why you?" Ron asked looking perplexed.

"I checked this bathroom Ron, after we'd checked it the first time, I didn't see any signs of an entrance so just thought I'd got it wrong but it has to be here!" he gestured at the open pipe running along the wall.

"Don't you see?" he said "that's how it's been getting about the school!, it's been going through the pipe from this bathroom, into other pipes and appearing in front of people".

"Wait, so you're saying that somewhere in here is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets" Ron said sceptically.

"Yes Ron that's exactly what I'm saying".

"If that's the case Harry, we need to check for the symbol of a snake" Neville said.

When Harry and Ron looked at him blankly he clarified "the emblem of Slytherin House is a snake and the creature is a Basilisk, so the entrance must have a symbol carved in somewhere" he told them logically.

After Harry and Ron had agreed that it was probably so, they began searching for such a symbol.

Harry himself was busy checking the toilet stalls when Neville yelled out "hey Harry, Ron over here!".

Harry and Ron put their search on hold and ran over to Neville.

"What have you found Nev?" Ron asked as they gazed at the row of sinks.

"Just under here" Neville said directing them to crouch down and look under one of the sink basins.

The two boys were astonished at the sight of a serpent and a sword intertwined, carved in the stone basin.

"No way!" Ron whispered in disbelief.

Harry smiled grimly "I'd say this is probably the entrance, but how do we open it?" as he said these words an idea struck him "it has to be Parceltongue" he said.

He saw Ron and Neville's eyes light up as they understood.

"I'll try to open it" Harry said.

Ron and Neville stepped well back and watched as Harry placed his hands on the stone basin and murmured in Parceltongue "I command you with the blood of Slytherin to open!".

He said it twice more and heard a cracking sound.

He jumped back in alarm.

It was just as well that he did as the sink slid forwards and a grate in the middle of the sinks moved aside to reveal a long dark tunnel.

Harry and his friends inched forwards and examined it for any sign of a way down.

Unfortunately they could find no ladder and so determined that they would have to jump down it in order to reach the Chamber.

Harry turned to look at his friends and saw concern etched on both their faces. Concern he knew that was more about what they'd find than the drop down.

"I'll go first" he told them "once I'm sure it's safe, I'll call up to you, got it?" his friends nodded and Harry placed a hand on Neville's shoulder "Nev, I know you want to come with us but you can't".

His friend looked very hurt at this "I'm not a coward Harry I'm coming with you!" his friend protested.

Harry sighed and replied "I know you're not a coward Nev and I never said you were but we need someone to stay up here, to let the Professors know what's happening and so they can come and help, ok?".

Reluctantly, Neville nodded and grasped the both of them in a tight hug as tears threatened to spill down his cheeks "good luck, both of you" he said emotionally before adding in a semi joking tone "and don't either of you dare die on me!".

They all laughed a little at that.

Harry took up position at the tunnel entrance.

* * *

Taking a deep breath, he jumped and to his sheer terror, found himself falling through empty air for what seemed like eternity before he landed on solid metal and slid along another section of pipe.

Finally, he landed with a thud on a solid rock floor and looked around. It was pitch black and he muttered "Lumos".

Looking around, he found himself to be in some sort of vast cavern beneath the school.

"No wonder the Chamber hasn't been found" he muttered to himself.

After looking around for a few minutes, he assured himself that he was not about to be suddenly jumped by something and so he called back up to Ron hoping that his friend could hear him "hey Ron, it's safe to come down!".

From somewhere far away he heard the reply "right, see you in a moment!".

Within a few minutes, Ron was lying on the cavern floor next to him. Harry knelt down and pulled him up.

"Thanks mate" Ron said, clapping him on the shoulder.

Seeing only one avenue of exploration which was a nearby tunnel they began to walk and soon found themselves in what could only be described as a giant sewer pipe.

Slime and water dripped incessantly from the walls and ceiling and as Harry walked he had the uncomfortable feeling that they were walking on countless bones.

He glanced down and nearly threw up as his guess was proved right and at their feet were indeed hundreds of animal bones.

In front of the animal bones, running a long way past them and down a section of the nearby tunnel was a snake skin.

Harry was horrorstruck at how big the was.

A thought struck him and it wasn't a pleasant one. If the skin of the basilisk was this big then how big is the basilisk now?.

He gulped and heard Ron cry out in alarm.

They kept on walking.

As they got to the halfway point they found themselves at a crossroads. Three different directions to go in but only one was the correct way.

If they guessed wrong they'd most likely get lost and never find the way out.

They stood there for a long while mulling over the options and trying to think of the most logical direction to go.

In the end, they agreed to go straight ahead, a guess soon proved right as they found themselves in front of a large iron door.

It was as tall as the ceiling and seemed embedded into the rock.

As they approached Harry could see that there were small carvings of snakes on the various door sections and one large carving of intertwined snakes in the very centre.

Harry was amazed that the door was in such perfect condition with not even a hint of rust on it, considering the fact that it had been erected almost a thousand years ago by a man who was long dead.

As they reached the door, Harry ran his hand over it.

From his left, Ron whispered "how do you suppose we open it?".

Harry frowned as he thought about this. After a moment he replied "it must be the same way as before, I'll have to speak Parceltongue and then hopefully the door will open".

"What, you mean you don't know?" Ron hissed in slight irritation.

Harry rolled his eyes "this is an exact art form Ron, I've never done this sort of thing before and until I see it work then it's all just guessing".

Ron seemed to accept that and lapsed into silence as Harry placed his hand on the centre of the door, over the carving of the snakes and in a language that still sounded English to him murmured "I come bearing the blood of Salazar Slytherin, I command this door to open in his name".

To his and judging by Ron's gasp his surprise as well, the door began to creak. They stepped back to a safe distance and watched as the large door swung slowly open to reveal a vast chamber.

"This is it Ron" he said.

The two boys hugged.

They were fully aware that this might be the end for both of them for they knew not what was waiting for them on the other side of the door.

* * *

Back on the surface, Neville had waited just long enough for Ron to jump down the chute before he took off at high speed, intent on finding a teacher and getting help for his friends who he was certain were in imminent danger.

As he raced through the corridors, he was running so hard that he ran full pelt into a teacher wearing all black.

As he lay sprawled on the floor, a strong hand gripped his arm and hauled him to his feet, "Longbottom, why were you running in corridor?" he asked slightly disgruntled at being bumped into.

"Sorry Professor Snape it's just that Harry and Ron are in danger Sir!" Neville said as he tried to get his breath back.

"In danger? how so?". Neville noted that although Snape voice did not sound concerned, his face had gone pale.

"We went to speak to Moaning Myrtle...".

"The ghost that haunts the Second Floor girls bathroom?" Snape Queried sounding confused.

Neville nodded eagerly "yes Sir, anyway, we spoke to her about how she died and then we found a carving of a snake under one of the sinks...".

"And?" Snape asked sharply.

Neville gulped "we found the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets Professor, Harry said I needed to get help right away".

Neville watched as Snape swallowed hard and a tear ran down his cheek "those foolish boys, those brave foolish boys" he said emotionally.

After a few seconds he said "come Longbottom we must tell the Headmaster and your Head of House about this, hurry!" he urged.

The two of them broke into a run as they looked for the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's Office.

* * *

Stepping through the door, Harry and Ron found themselves in a vast Chamber. The walls were solid rock but the floor was black flagstone, wet with damp and water running nearby, the stone worn away through the centuries.

As Harry looked around he saw some distance in front of them on a far wall, a large statue of what appeared to be a man.

He surmised that it was likely a statue of Salazar Slytherin as he had built the chamber.

Before he had time for more thought, he heard Ron give a shout of despair "Ginny!".

He looked wildly around and found Ron some distance away bent over the body of his sister. She seemed to be either asleep or unconscious.

Harry hurried over to them and knelt down.

Remembering his first aid training he checked for a pulse. It was faint but there was, thankfully, one there.

"Ginny, Ginny wake up!" Harry urged as he rubbed her arms urgently.

She seemed unable to respond to his plea's.

"She won't wake up, she's in a deep state of unconscious" said a calm, soft voice from close by.

Harry looked up and found himself face to face with what appeared to be a student.

It crossed Harry's mind that this was probably the culprit.

"Did you do this?" Harry demanded sharply as he stood up.

The boy smirked "oh yes and I can assure you she will be quite dead soon".

"Why?" Harry asked, feeling confused and sickened "why do any of this? what did Ginny or the others ever do to you?".

The boy laughed "they didn't do anything to me Potter, it has nothing to do with them".

Harry frowned "how do you know my name and what do you mean nothing to do with them?".

"Before I elaborate I feel I should tell you my name, although in truth I suppose I have two name's, one you are familiar with and one...perhaps you have not heard".

The boy pulled out a wand that Harry recognised instantly as Ginny's and began to write in the air.

The words "Tom Marvolo Riddle" appeared in smoking lettering.

Harry was about to speak when the person evidently called Riddle, waved the wand and the letters rearranged themselves to read "I AM LORD VOLDEMORT".

Harry's breath caught in his throat and he gasped out "that's...that's impossible!".

The boy laughed, the sound hard and cruel "with magic nothing is impossible Potter" Riddle moved closer "you see, strictly speaking I am not here, not yet. I am a memory, preserved perfectly in a diary for fifty years".

He gestured to Ginny "but with her life blood I am restoring myself slowly but surely and surely as she dies I will live".

"But why!" Harry shouted in anger "why do all this, what do you want? you failed at gaining power".

Riddle snorted derisively "the foolish older me, this version of me wants only one thing Potter, you, I want you dead, that is why I convinced this man to help me" he said smirking as he gestured to the side of the chamber.

And into view strode a person Harry would never have suspected.

Smiling and looking as immaculately dressed as ever, Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Harry, so nice of you join us" he said cheerfully "I assume you've become better acquainted with my friend here".

"Professor why...".

"Why did I do it all?" Lockhart guessed.

In a moment his whole demeanour changed. His face became hard and cruel and his smile was replaced with a scowl "it seems our goals align Harry, we both wish to see you depart this world".

Harry couldn't believe this was happening. He'd always thought Lockhart was a prat but this?.

"You see Harry, I've been having to share the limelight with you for far too long now, whenever I do something impressive it's compared with the "great Harry Potter" all because you somehow freakishly survived a Killing Curse" Lockhart scoffed "I mean, is that any reason to make you a celebrity?".

"Professor please come to your senses! Ginny needs to be taken out of here!".

Lockhart shook his head "quite impossible dear boy, she will die down here just as you two will, the story will be that at the sight of Ginny's poor mangled body, her brother and friend went mad and in their grief, they killed one another".

Harry heard a bellow of rage and saw an orange blur race past him as Ron jumped at Professor Lockhart and tackled him to the ground.

"You'll pay for this!" he yelled as he began to rain down punches on Lockhart.

"I think it's time we ended this" Riddle said calmly.

He turned to the statue nearby and began to utter words in Parceltongue that Harry realised as summoning a snake or in this case a Basilisk.

He watched in horror as the massive creature began to work it's down the tall stone statue towards it's exit point at the mouth.

Harry knew what he had to do. Knowing it was death to look at the creature directly he ran while yelling "Ron don't look up!".

He didn't wait to see if Ron had taken his advice, he ran to one of the walls and averted his eyes.

He heard a thump as heard the slithering as the Basilisk moved heavily across the chamber.

He his heart was beating so fast that he thought it might actually burst from his chest.

"He's over there, kill him!" he heard Riddle hiss.

Knowing he was seconds away from death he scrambled up the rock face and averted his eyes from the scene bellow.

He felt something large slam into him and felt very dazed.

He still clung to the rock.

Whipping out his wand, he aimed it downward and yelled "Confringo!" he heard the guttural scream the monster made and knew the spell had hit it's mark.

He followed it up, bellowing "Flippendo!".

The beast ceased it's attack on the wall and in fact, Harry heard a loud crash which suggested the beast had temporarily lost it's balance.

Harry slid down the rock face until he landed on the ground.

He heard the monster rear up again, about to strike only to halt in it's tracks as a soft, calming music filtered through the chamber.

Harry had heard it before and knew it to be Phoenix song.

He looked up and saw Dumbledore's Phoenix, Fawkes flying across the chamber and straight for the monster.

He heard Riddle's derisive comment "a Phoenix? what use is that?".

His tone changed a moment later however. Harry could hear the basilisk snapping it's fangs and the Phoenix scratching at monsters eyes.

The monster let out another heart wrenching scream of pain. Harry chanced a look and found that the Basilisk was without eyes.

"What are you doing you stupid bird? get back! get away!" Riddle yelled furiously trying to shoo it away.

Fawkes flew over to Harry and dropped a hat.

Harry's puzzlement grew as he saw it was the Hogwarts sorting hat.

"So this is what Dumbledore sends his young champion, a stupid bird and an old hat" Riddle snorted again.

Harry stared at the ghostly figure and saw that he was becoming more permanent by the minute "shall we match the might of Lord Voldemort with the "Boy Who Lived"? Riddle asked.

Harry nodded grimly. Before they could duel however there was a certain creature that needed dealing with.

Harry grasped the old hat and was surprised to feel something cold and metalic.

He pulled and out came a very ancient looking sword.

When he poked the blade however he winced, finding it to still be very sharp.

He suddenly knew what he had to do.

Grasping the sword firmly, he aimed a spell at Riddle who dodged it.

He sprinted across the chamber, rolled out of the way of the Basilisk's strike and aimed across the serpents neck just as Riddle cried out "no!".

As the head fell, Harry tried to roll out of the way but was not quick enough and one of the fangs pierced the skin of his arm filling it with venom.

Harry staggered to his feet feeling groggy but determined.

Riddle proved to be a tough opponent. No doubt, Harry's attacks were weaker due to the venom working through his veins.

"Flippendo!" Harry yelled at last, causing Riddle to fly backwards and slam into the chamber wall.

As Riddle was attempting to get up Harry heard scuffling nearby.

Turning his attention to the sound he saw Ron fighting with Lockhart.

Ron aimed his wand at Lockhart and fired a stunner only for Lockhart to dodge and knock Ron to the floor.

Ron's wand fell from his grasp and Lockhart pocketed it.

He pointed his own wand at Ron's temple "it's over boy, drop your wand and give up" Lockhart said triumphantly.

Harry flicked his eyes to Ron and saw his best friend shake his head.

Harry made a moment as if to drop the wand only to roll and fire a Jelly Legs Jinx at Lockhart.

The older wizard had not been expecting it and let go of Ron as he toppled to the floor unable to maintain his balance.

Harry was surprised to find that in all the fighting he was now standing next to Ginny and on the ground next to her was the diary.

Seized by a sudden idea, Harry snapped off one of the fangs from the Basilisk, fipped open the book and aimed at one of the pages "no, what are you doing? stop!" Riddle shouted commandingly.

Harry ignored him and plunged the fang into the diary.

Black ink spilled out onto Harry's hands and pooled all over the floor.

Riddle tried to move, looking round in surprise, he let out of scream of rage and then...poof!.

He was gone. Disappeared into nothingness leaving no trace behind.

Harry was spent. He fell to the floor, barely conscious.

Struggling to carry on, he watched as Ron retrieved his wand and as Lockhart tried to stand up, yelled "stay there!".

Lockhart, grabbed for his own wand, aimed it at Ron and shouted "Avada Kedavra!".

Ron ducked. The spell rebounded off the rock wall and flew back at Lockhart who had barely a moment of dawning comprehension before he dropped to the floor. His eyes wide and staring up at the ceiling.

He was dead.

Ron ran over to Harry and sank to his knees weeping.

"Harry!, Harry, we did it!, they're dead!" he said.

Harry could only groan in response.

Phoenix song filled the chamber and Ron found Fawkes stand by Harry. The big birds eyes were brimming with tears which fell over the place where Harry hit been bitten.

To Ron's incredulity, the wound began to sizzle and steam rose. The wound began to seal up, the poison gone!.

Harry was healed.

That wasn't the only good thing as next to Harry, stirred his sister "Ginny!" he cried out diving over to her and cradling her in his arms.

His sister looked around in confusion at her surroundings and then at Ron "Ron?" she said "where are we? what's going on?".

Ron breathed a sigh of relief "it's all ok Gin Gin, it's all going to be ok" he held her tightly in his arms not wanting to let her go.

Nearby Harry cleared his throat and Ron reluctantly broke the hug as he hugged his best friend.

Seeing that Ginny was alright, Harry, with tears in his eyes, grabbed her and added her to the hug.

After what seemed like an eternity, Harry looked at Fawkes and said simply "thank you Fawkes, you were brilliant".

The Phoenix trilled out it's calming song.

Harry stumbled over to the diary and picked it up along with the sword, hat and fang.

He then stumbled back to his friend and girlfriend and asked Fawkes "Fawkes, can you get us out of here?".

The Phoenix trilled again in response and moved into a position where Harry could grasp it's tail feather.

Ron grabbed hold of Harry and Ginny grabbed hold of Ron.

Somehow and Harry had no idea how, the bird managed to fly them all out of the chamber and up the pipe all the way to the Second Floor girls bathroom.

Harry and the others had barely a moment to get their bearings before a calm voice said "I think explanations are in order".

Harry spun round and found himself facing Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

* * *

Sometime later, after Ginny and the others had been checked over, they were all seated in Dumbledore's Office along with the parents of those involved.

"And so you see Professor's it was all down to Professor Lockhart" Harry finished.

Professor Dumbledore looked like he wanted to bang his head on the table at his own stupidity while Harry, Ron and Neville's parents were alternating between glaring at the old wizard and glaring at their children.

"Why did you not come and get a teacher Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked wearily.

Harry sighed. Running a hand through his hair he replied "there was no time Professor, Ginny was in danger, the school was going to be closed, Professor Dumbledore had been suspended and Hagrid was in Azkaban, we had to do something now!.

"Harry's right Professors" Ron said solemnly "everyone was in danger, if we'd waited any longer then...then Ginny wouldn't be here now" he said, his voice cracking.

Ginny hugged her brother tightly.

"Well, the day has been saved and I think it's fair to say that far from punish anyone for being out of bounds a points reward is in order for Mr Potter and Mr Weasley and of course Mr Longbottom" the old wizard smiled as his eyes twinkled "I also think it fair that each of you receive an award for Services to The School".

Harry smiled slightly "don't think you aren't still in trouble young man" his Mother said sharply, causing Harry to groan.

* * *

That night as Harry sat before a roaring fire in the Gryffindor common room he was feeling in a contemplative mood.

He could not get used to having to do this kind of saving the day thing.

All he truly wanted a normal life. But then, as he reflected bitterly, thanks to the stupid prophecy and Voldemort's belief in it, he would never have a normal life until he killed the evil wizard.

"What are you thinking about?" asked a voice from the stairs.

Harry looked over and saw Ginny, in her dressing gown smiling at him.

Harry sighed "nothing much, just wishing I could have a normal life".

Ginny came over and sat next to him "you are a hero you know" she said softly.

Harry groaned and was about to protest but she carried on "I know you don't want to be but you are" she took his hand "you saved my life in the chamber, if it wasn't for you and Ron, I'd be dead".

Harry gulped.

Ginny kissed him on the cheek and said "I love you Harry Potter".

He blinked at her in surprise before stuttering out "I love you too".

They hugged tightly and sat there like that for a long time.

* * *

A few days after the fight in the chamber the potion to revive the victims of the Basilisk was ready and Harry and the others were gathered around Draco and Hermione's beds as it was administered.

The effects were immediate as the victims began to waken slowly as if having been deeply asleep.

Harry found himself hugging first Hermione and then for a long time hugging his Brother while he cried and said emotionally "I didn't think you'd make it".

Draco chuckled weakly "you can't rid of me that easily Harry".

* * *

Finally the school year was at an end. All of the victims were back to normal, all exams had finished and Harry and his friends were lounging around on the grass near the black lake.

Harry had an arm round Ginny as she snuggled into him.

"Do you think we'll ever have a normal year here?" Hermione asked no one in general.

They all laughed "I'd say after last year and this year that this is the new normal" Harry remarked.

"At least Lockharts gone" Neville said.

"Yeah, always thought he was a creep" Ron added.

The group lapsed into companionable silence broken only by Hermione asking "have you all decided what new subjects you're taking up next year?", this question being aimed at Harry, Draco, Ron and Neville.

Everyone chuckled and Draco remarked with a smile "give us a chance Mione, we've only just finished this year".

Yes, Harry thought, it had certainly been another memorable year at Hogwarts Castle.

* * *

Authors Note: Well folks, that's Second Year official wrapped up.

The next chapter will cover the summer before Third Year as the students make many choices and also covers the train ride on which a rather unpleasant even takes place before ending with the start of term feast at which an unusual staff announcement is made.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: All the characters you recognise belong to JK Rowling. I only own Lucy, Janice, David, Molly & Celia as my own creations.

* * *

Authors Note: This chapter is going to be mostly fluff as it is largely set before Third Year

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Summer Fun

Harry was bored. So very very bored.

It had been two weeks since he had returned to Marauder Manor from Hogwarts.

Despite his parents being proud of him for saving Ginny and the school he had still been dismayed but not surprised to be grounded as punishment for not getting a teacher and not being more careful.

Since coming home, he had been allowed no television, no radio, no wizards chess, no reading of comics and worst of all, no Quidditch!.

All he had been allowed had been one five minute walk around the garden each day while he was watched by one of the adults or a House Elf to make sure he didn't go running off.

At the moment, he was sat up in his bedroom at his desk.

Sprawled in front of him was a mess of parchment, quills and textbooks.

He ran a hand through his hair as he glanced down at the essay he was working on which detailed how to recognise if someone was an Animagus or a true animal.

He had managed to write four feet of parchment out of the six feet required.

His brain felt completely frazzled. He couldn't think of anything else to add.

Most frustrating of all was the fact that this was his last homework assignment and once he completed it he would be able to enjoy himself again even though he had chores to do for another week.

He sighed heavily and put down his quill.

A voice from the doorway sounding sympathetic called out "hey Prongslet, having trouble?".

He turned at the sound and smiled as he saw his Uncle Sirius. He gestured to his parchment "I just can't think of anything else to add Padfoot".

Sirius walked further into the room "my brain feels like it's fried!" Harry said despondently.

Sirius ruffled his hair "is this your last assignment?".

Harry nodded miserably "I see...well lets see what you've got".

Harry felt a bit uneasy "you shouldn't be helping me, Mum and Dad said I had to do it alone" he said as he bit his lip.

"Hey Harry, who better to advise you what else to add than an Animagus himself".

As if to make the point clear, Sirius transformed in front of Harry's eyes into a big black dog with yellow eyes.

Harry laughed and ruffled Sirius's fur as he remembered all the times in his childhood when he'd chased Sirius around as Padfoot and had when little ridden on Sirius's back.

Sirius barked and then changed back "and besides, the sooner you get done with homework, the sooner we can practise Quidditch, need to keep your skills sharp".

Harry thought about this for a moment, looked around to make sure that no one else was nearby and then said "ok, thanks Padfoot".

"No worries Harry, now lets see what we have".

Sirius picked up the parchment and read through it all several times before giving his recommendation "it would be a good idea to mention that if an animal looks like it perfectly understands what you are saying and is listening intently then it could be an Animagus or at least part Kneazle.

Harry enthusiastically began to commit this information to parchment in his own style.

Just as Sirius was about to give another recommendation, a House Elf appeared in Harry's bedroom and Harry groaned as he saw who it was. Molter the latest Marauder Manor House Elf was standing in front of them both on the desk wearing a look of deep disapproval. He waggled his finger at them and said "you is not supposed to be helping Master Harry with his homework, Mistress Lucy says he has to do it himself".

"But surely there's nothing wrong with me giving him a few general ideas Molter" Sirius reasoned calmly.

The House Elf was silent for a while as he clearly weighed up the wisdom of this.

Eventually he replied "she didn't say that people couldn't give him ideas...very well Mr Black, carry on".

Before Molter left he said "by the way Master Harry, Mistress Lucy is telling me to tell you lunch is in an hour".

"Alright, thanks Molter" Harry said as he dipped his quill back in the ink pot and began to once again scratch away on the parchment.

With Sirius' help Harry managed to get his remaining homework finished in half the time it would normally have taken.

Feeling joyful to be done, at one o clock that afternoon he put down his quill, rolled up the parchment, sealed it and placed it in his school bag along with all of his other assignments.

He then strolled over to Hedwigs cage and opened it. He picked up a packet of owl treats and fed some to Hedwig who hooted happily at this before nipping his finger affectionately.

He then had an idea. He opened his desk drawer and took out four blank pieces of parchment upon which he proceeded to scroll two simple words that read "I'm free!".

Before sealing them however he made sure to write on Ginny's letter "I've been missing you like crazy, can't wait to see you, Love Harry".

Once he rolled them up and bound them with some string, he placed them inside a drawstring bag and attached it to Hedwig's leg "can you take these letters to Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Neville?" he asked.

Hedwig hooted in a way that signalled she was a bit offended that Harry had even asked such a thing "sorry girl, didn't mean to offend you" he said apologetically.

He dashed over to the window and threw it open.

Hedwig soared across to it, playfully nipping Harry's ear as she reached him.

In moments she was gone through the window and soaring off through the sky to deliver his letters.

He was thankful that she was so smart. He knew that she'd deliver them to the right people and not get lost as some owls might.

He exited his bedroom and on the landing he bumped into his Uncle Remus "hey Harry, finished your homework?" he asked with a smile.

Harry nodded, grinning "all done and mostly on my own" he replied.

His Uncle looked as though he was about to ask what Harry meant by this but changed his mind "expect I'll see you outside practising this afternoon then" he said smiling.

Harry nodded at this and was about to head downstairs but his Uncle called out "Harry, I was wondering if you'd like me to teach you some defensive magic next month".

Harry turned round with a hug grin on his face "sounds great Moony, I'll look forward to it".

He then ran down the stairs feeling happier than he had since returning home.

As he walked into the kitchen he found Dobby the House Elf bustling about cleaning "good afternoon Master Harry!" the elf said greeting him brightly.

"Afternoon Dobby, Mum said lunch was ready" Harry replied.

"Oh yes, Mistress Lucy is through in the drawing-room" the elf told him as he used his magic to clean a particularly stubborn gravy stain.

"Thanks Dobby" Harry said as he moved across the kitchen and pushed open the sliding door.

He found his Mother sitting on one of the plush sofas near the television. She seemed to be watching some sort of drama programme.

He walked over to his Mother and his kissed her on the cheek "hi Mum, homeworks all done" he said happily.

His Mother stared at him with her usual penetrating gaze that she had when she thought he may be lying.

After a while, she smiled and hugged him "good, your lunch is here" she said as she handed him a plate containing his favourite ham and cheese sandwiches, an apple and a bag of crisps.

"I'm going to eat this down by the Quidditch pitch if that's alright Mum" Harry said slightly pleadingly.

His Mother smiled "of course sweetie, enjoy it".

He spotted his younger Brother David sat in the nearby play area. The younger boy appeared to be drawing something.

As Harry drew closer he said "hey David, what are you drawing?".

His Brother looked up at him and grinned "it's a man in long black robes and there's this boy with glasses and they're duelling!".

His Brother seemed really pleased he'd been able to draw it.

Harry, picking it up the drawing was surprised by how good of an artist his Brother was at such a young age.

As he peered closer at the drawing however, horror gripped his heart.

The "man in the robes" as his Brother had called him, had eyes as red as two hot coals and slits for nostrils.

The man's hands were pale and bony.

The man was totally bald and wore an expression of intense anger.

Harry realised something truly terrifying at that moment. The picture was of Voldemort, the one he had to defeat.

What Harry couldn't work out was why?. Why had his Brother drawn this?. Did he have the gift of foresight or was it mere coincidence.

After thinking for a moment, Harry decided to not tell anyone. After all, he may have just been imagining things.

He ruffled Brothers hair, grabbed his lunch and headed for the kitchen.

* * *

Harry took a seat on one of the lounge chairs near the Quidditch pitch and began to hungrily devour his lunch.

He must have been very hungry as he finished it inside two minutes and then just lay back in the chair enjoying the warm summer air on his arms and face as he began to relax.

As he lay there, his mind drifted back to an incident that really made him smile.

* * *

It was the day after the incident in the Chamber of Secrets. Lockhart was dead, the Basilisk too and the ghost of Tom Riddle was gone along with his scheming.

Harry was having tea with Headmaster Dumbledore in his office and the old wizard was regaling him with tales of his time at Hogwarts.

Suddenly, the office doors had banged loudly open and in strode in all his foppishness, Patroclus Nott, a man Harry knew to be a Deatheater.

He had a shrewd idea just why the the man looked so angry (even though the man was trying to hide it), Harry being as perceptive as he was had realised very quickly after Dumbledore had been suspended and Hagrid taken to Azkaban that Nott had to be involved.

"Good afternoon Patroclus" Dumbledore said cordially, as if this was nothing but a lunch time meeting to discuss the school.

"So you're back then, even thought the board has dismissed you" Nott Sr said coldly.

"It would appear that I am Patroclus" Dumbledore stood up and walked around his desk "and you know, the funny thing is, the board members all seemed under the impression you'd threatened to curse their families if they refused to dismiss me" the old wizard said calmly as if discussing the weather.

"What nonsense, I would never..." Nott Sr began only to be silenced by a glare from Dumbledore.

"I know you wanted me gone Patroclus and I know full well why, you would do well in the future to remember just why you fear me and to not meddle with my school again, is that clear?".

Nott Sr tried to look tough but Harry could see in his eyes that he was afraid of the Headmaster.

Nott Sr nodded stiffly and turning to his House Elf Molter - who Harry noticed was looking from the diary to Nott Sr and hitting himself - he said "come Molter" and kicked hard at the elf as the two of them exited the room.

Glancing back at the diary, Harry was struck with a way to pay back Nott Sr and free a downtrodden servant from his evil clutches.

"Professor, may I have the diary?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

The Headmaster merely smiled, his eyes twinkling brightly and replied "of course Harry".

Harry ran to the desk, grabbed the diary, took off his shoe and a sock and placed the sock inside the diary.

After lacing his shoe back up he ran out of the office.

He caught up with Nott Sr and his House Elf as they were walking down the corridor to the spiral staircase.

Nott was kicking Molter as they went.

"Excuse Mr Nott" Harry said running up to them.

The angry wizard turned to look at him, his eyes filled with hatred and contempt "what do you want, boy?" he said sharply.

Harry thrust the book into the mans hand "I thought you'd like to have this back, since it **is your **property" he said coldly to the man.

The man sneered "you have no proof this is mine". All the same, Nott Sr took the diary and thrust it into his House Elf's waiting arms "take this you useless creature" he said disdainfully.

He then turned to walk off, calling out "come Molter".

Harry watched in growing satisfaction as he observed Molter opening the book, his hand already on the sock that had been placed inside.

Finally, the man turned around in irritation "I said come Molter...what's that you have?" he said sharply.

Molter held up the sock, his eyes brimming with tears of happiness "Master has given me a sock, Master has freed Molter, I'm free!" the Elf said smiling and jumping for joy.

Nott Sr's face twisted into a mask of fury and with a bellow of rage he roared "YOU LOST ME MY SERVANT!" and advancing menacingly towards Harry, his wand out ready to attack.

Harry hardened his resolve and whipped out his own wand ready to duel.

The duel however, never came, for as Nott Sr got near to Harry, Molter sprang into action and with a snap of his fingers, flung his old Master backwards all the way to the staircase.

Incandescent with rage, Nott Sr hauled himself up (no easy task given his bulk) and after one last glare at Harry and Molter, stepped onto the spiral staircase.

Molter turned to Harry, his eyes once again brimming with tears and a massive smile on his face "Harry Potter has freed Molter from a great evil, Molter is forever in Harry Potters debt!, what do you wish of Molter?" the Elf asked.

"I don't want anything Molter, it was the right thing to do, no one should be allowed to treat anyone that way" he said smiling himself now.

Molter threw himself at Harry's feet "oh Harry Potter is so kind and noble!" he gushed, making Harry very uncomfortable.

"What should I do now Harry Potter Sir?" the Elf asked.

Harry thought for a moment. He knew that House Elves were tied to their place of employment and needed someone to employ them in order to live.

"You could always come and work for us at Marauder Manor, where I live" Harry said "you'd have to accept wages though and a few days off a month".

To anyone else these contract terms would have sounded very stingy but Harry knew where to draw the line.

Every Elf he'd met would rather work than relax, usually were horrified at being paid and hated time off "those are the terms Molter, along with the requirement to not call me Sir, just call me Harry".

"Oh I couldn't do that Harry Potter Sir, it wouldn't be respectful".

"Alright then Molter, how about calling Master Harry".

The Elf thought for a second and then nodded "I agree to the terms Master Potter, shall I start today?".

Harry nodded, grinning "I'll see you when the school term ends Molter, oh...I'd better give you the address so you can get there" he told the Elf.

The Elf soon disappeared with a loud pop and behind him Harry could hear chuckling.

He turned around.

"That was a very kind thing you just did Harry" Dumbledore said, smiling "not many wizards would be willing to free an Elf and much less would they take said Elf in".

Harry sighed, "I couldn't leave him with them Sir, it wasn't right the way they treated him".

Dumbledore nodded "your compassion does you much credit Harry and I know as Headmaster I'm supposed to be unbiased but I'm very proud of you".

* * *

Harry's mind returned to the present as he heard a voice from beside him "you look very relaxed, what are you thinking about?" his sister Molly asked him curiously.

Harry smiled "just about freeing Molter from Mr Nott" he said.

His sister grinned at this and said "I'm very glad you're my Brother you know" and then she hugged him.

Hugging her back, Harry reflected on the fact that he had the best family anyone could wish for.

After that he and his sister, who were soon joined by Draco, Luna, Neville, Hermione and Ron (who had just finished being punished himself for his recklessness in the chamber). And the group spent a very happy afternoon, swimming, playing tag, wizards chess and when Fred, George and their friend Lee Jordan arrived, they spent the rest of the time playing Quidditch.

It was however, the arrival of Ginny that he'd been waiting for above all else and when she arrived he'd taken her to one side and said not caring who heard it "Ginny, I love you" and he kissed her on the cheek, mindful to do nothing more and gave her a long hug.

As it happened, the Weasley children had a big announcement for the others "Dad won a holiday to Egypt and two thousand galleons spending money from a competition in the Daily Prophet!" Ron told them excitably.

Harry and the others gave their congratulations and Draco asked "so guys, when do you leave?".

"Well young Neville..." began Fred.

"We leave..." George continued.

"On the first of August". Fred finished.

"And we'll be gone for three weeks!" Ron added happily.

"Can't wait to explore those old tombs, eh Fred" George said with a smirk.

"Indeed my dear George, indeed" Fred replied.

A few words struck home, "First of August" and "Three Weeks", Harry froze. A horrible feeling had gripped his stomach.

He wouldn't see his girlfriend or his best friend for three whole weeks.

He felt miserable.

Don't get him wrong!. Harry was overjoyed for them all. If anyone deserved a bit of luck it was the Weasley's who were like a second family to him.

It was just...he'd miss Ron and Ginny so much. He'd known them for practically their whole lives and while he'd been apart from Ginny during his First Year at Hogwarts Ron had still been there so he'd been able to get through it.

"I know you were looking forward to my birthday Harry" Ginny told him quietly as they went off to a corner of the garden "that's why I wasn't sure how to tell you, see..." Ginny sighed "I'm really excited to be going to Egypt to see the pyramids and all but...I'll miss you...a lot" she said sadly.

Harry reached up and stroked her cheek with the palm of his hand "and I'll miss you Gin Gin" he said with a sigh as he held her in his arms "but I know you'll enjoy it and your family deserves some luck, just promise me you'll write to me ok?" he said.

Ginny smiled through her tears and nodded "I will I promise".

When they rejoined the group Harry was smiling once again as he tried to look on the bright side. 'At least Hermione, Neville and Luna will be here all summer'. In a moment, this happy thought was interrupted "we're going on holiday as well, my parents and me" Hermione told them all both smiling and looking a little sad to not be coming over every day.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

Hermione smiled "we're going on a tour of France, Mum and Dad organised it as a surprise".

Harry plastered on a smile and said "that's great Hermione, I hope you all have a good time".

* * *

August dragged a bit with two of his best friends not being there.

Luckily however he had two saving graces, the first was that Neville and Luna still came over each day and so at least he, them and Draco and Molly could have fun.

The second positive thing was that Harry along with Draco was learning defensive magic.

True to his word after their conversation back in July, Remus had started to teach the pair of them some defensive and concealment spells to help in case they were attacked.

He even taught them a few more advanced offensive spells.

Needless to say, Harry was thoroughly enjoying his lessons each day and was thrilled to sharpen his skills with the Expeliarmus spell and to be able to learn the blasting hex which would enable him to blast back Deatheaters and others who would do him harm.

Harry noticed however that his Uncle was being a little bit cagey.

Each day he'd go about with a wide smile on his face, whistling and cracking jokes.

Harry loved his Uncle dearly but Remus was by nature a lot more serious than the other Marauders.

He wondered just what could have made his Uncle so happy.

He didn't think his Uncle was dating as despite the best efforts of his friends and family, Remus had stubbornly refused to date for so many years now.

One day after Remus had left the duelling room, Harry asked his brother "Draco, why do you think Moony's so happy?".

His brother gazed at him thoughtfully as he considered the question "well, he doesn't date, so it can't be that...I'd say, it's a new job".

Harry was confused about this. Even with Werewolf rights now including protections in employment, the right to own businesses and adopt, most Werewolf's were still discriminated against unfairly.

Harry couldn't think of any job therefore, that Remus could get that he'd be happy about. Especially not whistling and cracking jokes type of happy.

He decided to cast it out of his mind. It wasn't important.

* * *

On the morning of the eleventh, Harry slipped his glasses on as usual, stretched, scratched, went and had a shower and got dressed in his favourite Wimbourne Wasps t-shirt and a pair of denim jeans the pair that had zip pockets.

After trying and failing to tame his hair, he hurtled down the stairs and into the kitchen.

He found his brother and sister already at the breakfast table along with their brother David and their aunt Celia, Peters wife.

"Hi Aunt Celia" Harry said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

She smiled and ruffled his hair "morning kiddo, here's a letter for you" she told him as she picked an envelope off the table and handed it to him.

"Thanks Auntie" he said as he went to his seat ruffling his younger brothers hair on the way "morning David" he said.

"Morning Harry" his brother replied with a smile as he ate his cereal.

"Morning Draco, Molly" he said as he sat down in a seat near Draco.

With one hand he buttered some toast and with the other he opened the envelope feeling curious.

He knew it couldn't be a letter from Hermione as he'd had one just yesterday telling him how much she was enjoying exploring France but also missing him and the others.

He pulled out the letter, unfolded it and began to read.

As he read his face broke into a broad grin "it's from Ginny" he said. He got the feeling that everyone was watching him. He turned to look at each of his family in turn and found on each face a grin.

"We guessed that from the way you were grinning" Draco said "you shouldn't grin so wide brother, you'll hurt your jaw" he joked.

Harry slapped him playfully with the envelope and went back to reading the letter "so what does she say?" Molly asked sounding intrigued.

"She says she hopes everyone here is doing well. She's enjoying Egypt, seeing the pyramids and the sphinx and going down the nile on a tour boat, she says she..." Harry stopped reading and suddenly hugged the letter as he blushed scarlet.

"She said what?" Draco asked trying to grab the letter.

Harry however had always been the quicker of the two and in a flash had leapt from his seat, thrown open the back door and sprinted away down the path.

He heard Draco's footsteps for a time but after many twists and turns was confident that he'd shook his brother off.

There was one part of the letter that he did not want to read out to anyone else.

He just wanted to keep it for himself.

He settled down on a seat in the summer house and began to reread the letter.

Halfway down was passage he wanted to read again "Harry, thank you so much for my gold bracelet, it's beautiful and I'll treasure it always, I want you to know that although I'm enjoying it here in Egypt, I miss you more than there are stars in the sky, I love you and can't wait to be back home to tell you in person, your Ginny".

As Harry read the not for a third time, tear drops formed in his eyes and began to splash onto the parchment.

He quickly wiped his eyes and smiled. He kissed the letter and murmured softly "I love you too Ginny, with all my heart".

* * *

It was late August, the thirtieth to be exact. As Harry got up and dressed, ready for the day, he wondered just why they had waited until today to get his and Draco's school supplies for the coming year.

When he asked this very question to his Dad who was sat at the breakfast table, a cup of coffee and a half eaten piece of toast in front of him, his Dad replied "Me and Padfoot wanted to come with you to get your school supplies and it's been crazy at the office this month, sorry Harry".

"Oh it's no problem Dad" Harry assured him "I just wondered that was all".

Harry's Dad smiled and opened his newspaper. Harry watched as his Dad took another bite of toast before dropping it butter side down on the floor. His Dad's face had gone as pale as a ghost.

Harry frowned. That couldn't be good news. Not much could make his Dad look so worried "what's up Dad? is it something in the paper?".

His Dad looked over at him and his eyes were full of concern. He however merely said "I'll tell you later Harry, I've got to find your Uncles".

As Harry's Dad walked off, the paper clutched in his hand, Harry pondered over just why his Dad was so upset.

* * *

On the first floor James knocked frantically on Sirius's bedroom door.

He soon heard movement and a sleepy voice say "it's alright Jan, I'll see who it is".

After a few minutes, the door opened to reveal a tousle haired and yawning Sirius, wearing only a dressing gown and a pair of underpants.

"Where's the fire Prongs? you do know how early it is right?" he said irritably.

Without a word, James thrust the newspaper into his best friends hand and said hoarsely "read the first page".

Sirius looked at him questioningly but obliged all the same, opening the paper and examining the first page.

After reading silently for a few moments he looked up from the paper into James's eyes. He looked angry "how the hell did he escape!" he said furiously.

James sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair "I've no idea Padfoot, it doesn't say, we need to ask the Minister about this".

Sirius nodded "but first we need to tell Moony and Wormtail and then we tell Lucy, Celia and Janice".

James nodded knowing it made sense.

What Sirius said next however surprised James completely "I also think we should tell Harry".

James gaped at him, his mouth hanging open wide enough to catch flies.

He didn't know if Sirius was joking or just being stupid "you can't be serious Padfoot".

"I am Prongs, he has a right to know" Sirius said.

James shook his head "we'll discuss this with Moony, Wormtail, Lucy, Celia and Janice before we do anything".

He could see that Sirius wanted to argue with him but thankfully held his tongue.

The two of them went off to rouse the remaining adults of the Manor and break the news to them.

It didn't take long to gather them all together.

Once they were in James and Lucy's bedroom James threw a silencing spell over the room and especially the doorway to prevent any sound travelling outwards.

To say their friends and spouses were bemused and irritated at being dragged into this room with no explanation and James and Sirius acting very jittery was an understatement.

James could tell that Peter and Remus were both annoyed. Remus because he'd been dragged away from a very interesting book, Peter because he'd been making an important call to a publishing company, Lucy and Celia because they'd had a conversation interrupted in the upstairs sitting room. Janice was just bemused at the whole thing, standing, hands on hips and a grin on her face.

"What the hell's this about you two?" Peter asked irritably.

Remus nodded, showing that he too had been about to ask this.

James decided that it was best to just get it out the way and say it quickly rather than prevaricating, so he said "Mundungus Fletcher escaped Azkaban Prison yesterday".

He saw a range of emotions on faces from annoyed, to amused at what seemed a funny joke.

James sighed and was about to answer only for Sirius to jump in angrily "it's no bloody joke Wormtail!" he snapped as his friend sniggered.

James saw Remus looked at him quizzically and James just nodded his head as to confirm Sirius's outburst.

"Show them the newspaper Padfoot" he said.

Sirius silent but glowering, handed the Daily Prophet to Remus "read the first page" James instructed.

Remus did as bid. After reading the first few lines he gulped. He kept reading until he'd reached the bottom of the page.

He peered up from the newspaper, worry etched in every line of his face "they aren't joking Wormtail" he said dully as he passed the newspaper to his friend.

Peter read the first page as well and when he was finished James could tell he wanted to be sick "how?" was all he could say and that in a bare whisper.

Lucy, Janice and Celia all read the paper together and all looked worried when they finished.

In fact, Lucy looked more than worried, she was crying, tear drops were spilling from her eyes and landing on her blouse "Harry, my poor Harry, he's in such danger now" she said emotionally and began to cry again.

James crossed the room and gathered his wife up in a fierce hug in which they stayed for many minutes as she sobbed.

"What if he goes to Hogwarts?" she said in a choked voice.

James wasn't sure what to say to this so he simply said "if he does it won't matter, he can't get, Hogwarts is the most secure..." before he could finish Lucy had slapped him.

He looked shocked "don't you dare finish that statement James Potter!" she nearly screamed as she glared at him "he's not been safe there these past two years, having to fight trolls, evil teachers, basilisks and ghosts from diaries!".

James knew better than to cut in.

Instead it was Remus who interrupted "he'll be a lot safer this year Lucy".

Lucy rounded on him glaring "and what makes you say that Remus?" she asked through clenched teeth.

Remus wasn't fazed. He'd seen and been on the receiving end of her temper before "I wasn't going to say anything to any of you until tonight, Wormtail already knows" he said looking at Peter who smiled and nodded "Albus has offered me the position of Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher for the upcoming school year and I've accepted".

James and Sirius immediately brightened at this news.

Not only did James feel very happy for his best friend, his brother, he also knew Harry would without a doubt, be safe now, Mundungus Fletcher couldn't possibly harm Harry with a Marauder in the castle.

* * *

That afternoon Harry, Draco and their parents arrived at the Leaky Cauldron pub.

They had received a letter from the Weasley's saying that they were staying overnight at the Leaky Cauldron having got back late from their holiday.

Hermione it seemed, was also with them as her parents had had to fly out to America to visit her Uncle Morris who was very sick and didn't seem to have a lot of time left.

The moment Harry stepped out of the fireplace at the back of the pub he could hear the sounds of chaos that could only belong to the Weasley clan who were the nicest people you could meet but notoriously loud and disorganised.

"That cat is brilliant!, he saved me from that bloody book!" he heard Ron say as he walked across the pub to the staircase.

"Oh Ron, don't exaggerate!" he heard Hermione say and as he reached the stairs, saw her blush furiously at the compliment for her pet.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs Ron spotted Harry and shouted "Harry!".

Hermione hearing his shout gave a shout of joy of her own and the pair ran over to him, Hermione giving him a fierce hug.

When she relinquished it Ron said happily "it's really good to see you Harry, I've got a gift for you my trunk".

Harry grinned at this "it's great to see you guys too, I really missed you both this last month but I'm glad you had fun in Egypt Ron".

He turned to Hermione "how was France Hermione?".

Hermione smiled as she replied "it was fantastic!, we went to Paris and saw the paintings in the Louvre, we went up the Eiffel Tower and we spent a week in Nice!". After she said this her face fell "sadly my Uncle Morris is really sick, they think he might not make it through the year" she said sounding upset.

Harry glanced over at Ron and surmised that she must have told their freckled friend already as his expression was solemn.

Harry rubbed her arm and said "I'm really sorry to hear that Mione, when you speak to your parents again give them my best and tell them if there's any I can do let me know".

Hermione sniffed slightly and said gratefully "thanks Harry, I'll pass it on".

As Harry clapped eyes on a large orange blob that Ron was holding he asked "what's that?".

Hermione beamed "it's my pet cat Crookshanks! isn't he just the most gorgeous thing?".

Harry looked at the ball of fur dubiously. He liked cats, they even had one back at the Manor, but he couldn't say he saw the appeal of this one, not only did he look grumpy but he also looked like he'd run felt pelt into a brick wall and squashed his nose".

"No one wanted to give him a home, I don't know why" she said as she scratched behind the cats ears.

'I think I know why' Harry thought as he stared at the cat. He didn't voice his thoughts however.

Then came a voice he'd been longing to hear for four longs weeks "Harry".

He looked over at the stairs and clapped eyes on Ginny.

His girlfriend had her long hair pulled back into a ponytail and Harry saw clearly that on her wrist was the bright gold bracelet that he'd bought her for her birthday.

He gulped slightly at the sight of her and said in a slightly high pitched voice "hi Ginny".

* * *

Authors Note: I had planned to include the revelation of Fletchers escape, the train ride and the opening feast in this chapter but I just kept writing and it kept getting longer and would have been too long so I'll include these things in Chapter Seventeen.

Reviews are much appreciated and thanks for the support.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: All characters you recognise belong to JK Rowling, I only own Lucy, Janice, Celia, David & Molly

* * *

Hello everyone, hope you enjoyed the last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it and hope both that one and this are good reads.

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: The Prisoner of Azkaban, Dementors & Surprises

Harry broke into a wide smile as Ginny walked towards him, a warm smile on her face that made her look more beautiful than ever.

As she drew level with him he said with much emotion "Gin Gin, I missed you so much".

Ginny beamed at this "I missed you two my love" she kissed him on both cheeks and then they hugged for a long time.

The embrace was so warm and welcoming that neither of them wanted to break it and it was only when they heard awkward coughing from some, that they reluctantly relinquished the hug and pulled apart.

Both of them were smiling sheepishly and Ginny grabbed his hand as they walked over to the others.

Harry saw Mr Weasley smiling at him. Mrs Weasley was smiling but it seemed a bit forced.

Harry had been to say the least, very nervous about what would happen when both his and Ginny's parents found out that they were now dating.

His Dad and Mr Weasley both seemed happy about it and while Mr Weasley had along with Ginny's brothers, given him "the speech" about keeping Ginny safe, loving her and being faithful to her he had also given his blessing as had Harry's Dad who had clapped him on the shoulder and congratulated him on finding his true love at such a young age.

Harry knew that his Dad had dated a fair bit at Hogwarts before getting together with his birth Mum Lily in their Sixth Year.

In truth Harry was surprised himself at how quickly he and Ginny had ended up in a relationship.

Their feelings had sort of taken them to this place and Harry felt that he wouldn't have it any other way.

Mrs Weasley seemed to be torn between two mindsets. She didn't really want her Ginny dating at such an age but she also realised that Ginny was older than her years especially after the incident in the chamber and also seemed to believe that Harry would treat her daughter right.

Harry's Mum of course found the whole thing really sweet but also shed some tears about how fast he was growing up.

* * *

That evening after He, Draco and their parents had been shopping in Diagon Alley for school supplies, Harry was pleasantly surprised to find his friend Hagrid, sitting at the bar enjoying a drink.

He had sitting on the bar, two identical books, both had flat spines and to Harry's shock as they drew near...faces! with multiple eyes. It was very creepy in Harry's opinion.

The books also had teeth. Harry had no idea if it was real or an effect and wasn't really sure he wanted to ask.

It had always been Hagrids way to think of dangerous creatures and objects as "interesting" rather than terrifying.

"Alright Harry? Draco?" Hagrid said with a smile.

They greeted him back and Harry asked the obvious question "what have you got there Hagrid?".

Hagrid patted one of the books and replied "this here, is the Monster Book of Monsters".

Both boys looked at him blankly so he explained "I had a look at your list for this year and saw that this book was on your lists so I thought I'd save yer parents the trouble of buying it and give it to you both as back to school present".

"Who on earth could be our teacher that would put this on the list?" Draco said as he eyed the books warily.

"Professor Dumbledore said I'm not to divulge anything so I'm not saying a word" Hagrid told them seriously and after presenting the books to them, downed his firewhiskey and left after wishing them a good journey to school the next day.

* * *

Early that night before dinner, Harry's Dad and his Uncle Sirius waylaid him in the main pub area and got permission from Old Tom, the man who owned the pub, to use his backroom for a talk with Harry.

He wondered just what it could be about. His fears were heightened as his Dad threw up a silencing spell preventing sound from leaving the room.

Harry frowned at this. He couldn't think of anything so serious that could require this kind of cloak and dagger meeting unless Voldemort had returned.

Thinking along these lines he asked this very question. His Dad was quick to set him straight "no it's nothing to do with Voldemort...not really anyway".

Harry frowned even more "what do you mean by not really? it either is or isn't, surely?".

Sirius took a deep breath and said "someone has escaped Azkaban Prison Harry, someone very dangerous, someone who most likely wants you and all of us...dead".

Before Harry could ask, his Dad took up the story "Mundungus Fletcher, the little rat who betrayed the Order of Phoenix, forced Peter to give away our location to Voldemort and took me hostage for a while".

As his Dad said these words, Harry felt it was a struggle to breath. He began to hyperventilate, he wouldn't have been surprised if he'd looked in a mirror to see a very pale, worried face staring back at him "how can you be sure it's him" he asked "I mean...Azkaban's the most secure location in the wizarding world next to the Ministry of Magic".

"We know it's him Harry because his cell was empty and because the Ministry have released this picture of him taken after he escaped" Sirius said, handing Harry a grainy photograph that clearly showed, a little older, with less hair and much thinner, but still Mundungus Fletcher".

Harry banged his fist on the table in anger "how did he escape?" he demanded, fury etched into every line of his face.

"We're not sure" his father said quietly "we only know that he somehow managed to slip past the Dementors and out of the prison".

Harry put his head in his hands. He couldn't believe that this was happening and murmured "I shouldn't go back to Hogwarts".

"What was that Harry?" his Dad asked, sounding confused.

"I said" Harry repeated much clearer "I shouldn't go back to Hogwarts".

He took his hands away from his face and looked at his Dad and Godfather. Both of them seemed extremely puzzled by his words "why ever not?" Sirius asked him.

Harry sighed sighed and blew out a breath of air "because if I go back and Fletcher is after me, all my friends will be in danger, my brother will be in danger and so will the girl I love, I can't take the risk" he told them heavily.

"With all due respect Harry, that's total nonsense" his Godfather said bluntly.

Harry gaped at him "your friends, brother and girlfriend will be no more in danger if you go to Hogwarts than if you stay away, in actual fact I happen to think you'll be a lot safer there this year" he said cryptically.

Harry felt confused "Sirius is right Harry" his Dad said "all you'd be doing by stepping away from school is depriving yourself of a good education and robbing those who care about and love you of precious moments with you".

Harry nodded at these words and replied "okay, I see it now, it makes more sense, I'll go back to school".

His Dad looked happy at this but also seemed to be very apologetic now and Harry could guess that something was about to be said that he would not like "I can't let you go into Hogsmeade though" his Dad said.

Harry was furious "you'd deprive me of the experience of visiting the only all wizard village in the country?" he asked hotly.

James sighed "look Harry, I've discussed it with your Mother and we both think that it would be for the best if you stayed at Hogwarts while the others went to Hogsmeade".

Harry was about to protest this only for Sirius to add "Me and your Aunt Janice have said the same thing to Draco as well, you are both in danger if you leave the safety of Hogwarts Castle".

"But you think it's fine for our friends to go to Hogsmeade do you?" Harry replied angrily "you just said we're in danger, don't you think they will be as well!, they're our best friends! we can't just leave them!".

"We don't think any of you should go but we spoke to the Weasleys and the Longbottoms and even firecalled the Grangers and all of them seem to think it's safe for now" his Dad said.

"We can't influence other parents Harry, all we can do is try to keep you and Draco safe" Sirius added.

Harry was still angry about this but he knew that arguing would do no good and so agreed "alright fine, no Hogsmeade, just means I'll have more time for pranking" he added mischievously.

His Dad and Godfather smiled at this though his Dad eyed him suspiciously for a moment as if not sure to believe Harry's words.

Eventually the three of them headed upstairs and as they reached their rooms bade each other goodnight.

Draco who was sharing a room with Harry was already asleep when Harry entered, so he was careful to take off his trainers so as not to wake his Brother up.

Harry changed into his pyjamas and got under the covers but sleep just would not come.

He lay awake long into the night thinking about everything.

Of course he was upset about being denied his Hogwarts visits which were a major thing for Third Years and above but compared to the looming spectre of Mundungus Fletcher, it was nothing but a minor inconvenience.

In truth, the reason he was angry about not going to Hogsmeade was because he wouldn't be able to protect his friends from the evil git.

Still, he had one thought to comfort him, at least Ginny wouldn't be at risk as, being only a Second Year, she couldn't go to Hogsmeade yet. But it didn't stop him worrying about Ron, Neville and Hermione, he even worried for Percy and The Twins who he was very fond of despite their being older than him.

It was the early hours of the morning before sleep finally claimed him. When it did he had the most horrible nightmare he'd had in years.

In the dream, he was horrified to find Mundungus Fletcher after him.

He tried running but his legs wouldn't move. He was rooted to the spot.

Fletcher suddenly changed from a man into a ferret and began to slash at his chest and face while cackling madly.

Harry woke with a start and shuddered violently.

He struggled for sleep for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next morning as the large group of students and parents breakfasted in the common area of the pub, Harry felt very subdued.

He said little and ate less.

He couldn't stop thinking about what he'd been told last night. He was usually able handle anything and while he did get scared it wasn't often and certainly not when he was about to return to his third favourite place in the whole world.

But finding out that the maniacal and murderous Mundungus Fletcher had escaped Azkaban Prison and was undoubtedly after him...well...that was a terrifying thought.

He didn't even have the consolation that Fletcher had no wand as it was reported that before he left he had killed an Auror guard and stolen his wand which meant not only was he dangerous, he was also armed.

It was not surprising that after breakfast when Harry was about to return to his room to get his trunk he was waylaid by Draco.

Sometimes he hated the close mental connection he had with his Brother and today was one of those times "I know somethings up Harry" he said frankly.

Harry groaned "I've told Hermione and Ron my suspicions too, I know you were told something about Mundungus Fletcher and I'd guess it's that he's escaped, Ron and Hermione are coming over now and we want all the details".

"Why do you need to know?" Harry asked irritably and immediately felt bad for his tone of voice.

"We want to know Brother mine, because we care and want to look out for you the way you look out for us".

Harry nodded, accepting this explanation. As he looked over Draco's shoulder he shut his eyes and groaned.

Walking towards He and Draco was not only Ron and Hermione but also...Ginny.

He noted that Ginny looked even more concerned than the others.

As soon as the three of them drew level Harry said "I know you all want an explanation but not here" he gestured to the stairs "lets head up to Mine and Ron's room".

He set off up the stairs and was followed closely by the other New Marauders.

As soon as they reached his room and were all inside, he shut the door and pushed the bolt across.

He regretted that due to the Restriction of Underage Magic law he couldn't soundproof the room. He would just have to hope that his friend, girlfriend and brother would keep calm over what he was about to divulge to them.

Harry took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. He then began to talk "last night, before I went to bed, my Dad and Padfoot wanted a talk with me, I figured that if they wanted to tell me something so late at night it must be important so I went into the back room...".

Here Harry paused wondering how to say it. In the end he decided it was best not to beat about the bush "they told me that Mundungus Fletcher..." he saw Ginny and Hermione shiver and Draco look angry at that name "has escaped Azkaban Prison".

He saw Ron looking at him in deep concern, Hermione looked deeply worried and even looked about to cry, Draco had already guessed it through their mental link and so his reaction was lessened but he still went pale.

Ginny's reaction was the worst of all though as she flung herself into her boyfriends arms and hugged for dear life. As if by letting go she'd never see him again.

He stroked her bright red hair and murmured words of comfort to her.

After a while he looked into her beautiful brown eyes and said "it's ok Gin Gin, I'm not going anywhere" he kissed her forehead and held her even tighter.

After Ginny had calmed down they pulled apart from the hug and Harry turned to face his friends and brother.

The first person to speak was Hermione and her declaration didn't surprise him in the slightest "well, you know you can't go to Hogsmeade now" she said almost matter of factly.

Harry saw Ron gape at her, his mouth opening and closing like of goldfish.

Draco scowled and Harry surmised that his Dad and Godfather had told him he couldn't go into Hogsmeade either, though they had clearly decided to let Harry tell him about Fletcher.

"Are you mad Mione?" Ron burst out "of course Harry's going to be able to visit Hogsmeade!".

Hermione glared at Ron "I doubt Mr Potter would let him do that with a dangerous criminal on the loose Ronald!" she said snappishly.

Harry wanted to tell Ron to shut up and that he was just digging a bigger hole for himself but his best friend carried on "it's all part of the experience for Third Years and above!".

"And if Fletcher kidnaps him while he's wandering round Hogsmeade?" Hermione asked intelligently.

"Well...there'll be Aurors there won't there" he said

Hermione shook her head but before she could speak again and continue the argument Draco jumped in "it's not like Harry will be alone there, Ginny and Luna can't go into Hogsmeade yet anyway and I've been told by Dad that it's too dangerous for me as well" he said the last part somewhat bitterly.

"And it's not like Harry's hasn't been to the Hogsmeade before Ron" Ginny said.

Harry felt it was a good point "he's already been to Honeydukes and the various other shops with his parents and with us before".

Harry had to admit that that too made sense "and the shrieking shack holds no interest for me" Harry pointed out "given I know why it was really put there and who used to go there".

Ron still seemed to want to protest "but I don't want to go exploring Hogsmeade with just Neville and Hermione!" he exclaimed, oblivious to the glare that Hermione was now giving him.

"Oh thank you very much Ronald!" Hermione snapped "so much for being my friend!" she stormed off then and the other three in the room groaned at Ron's idiocy.

After a moment, Harry walked over to his best friend and smacked him as hard as he could on the back of his head "ow!" Ron exclaimed in annoyance as he rubbed his head "what was that for?".

Harry fixed him with a hard look "she likes you you idiot" Ron looked lost and said "I like her too, she's a great friend".

The other people in the room all sighed at exactly the same time and Draco came forward, placing a hand on their friends shoulder "no Ron, she doesn't just like you as a friend, she **likes you**" he said, putting emphasise on the words like and you, hoping their friend would get it.

It seemed that Ron as daft as he could be about this sort of thing, finally did get it "you mean she...she...likes me...likes me?" he clarified.

Harry, Ginny and Draco all nodded at this and Ron groaned. Cursing his own stupidity he began to bang his head repeatedly on the door to Harry's room.

At this, Ginny walked over to her brother, pulled him away from the door and said in a firm but kind voice "it's not too late Ron, go and talk to her, apologise and talk about your feelings and her feelings".

Ron looked very nervous at this and Harry had a lot of sympathy. He knew his best friend was not very good when it came to emotions "I...I...I can't" he stammered.

Ginny fixed him with a hard look "yes you can Ronald and yes you will" she said, hands on hips. Ron took a look at them all and then nodded resolutely.

He unlocked the door and left the room.

"Poor Ron" remarked Draco.

"Do you think it'll go well?" Harry asked no one in particular.

Ginny answered "it depends what he says to her".

"He's doomed!" Harry and Draco chorused causing Ginny to snigger loudly.

* * *

Later that morning Harry felt much happier. His brother, friend and girlfriend had managed to keep his mind off of Mundungus Fletcher and on much happier matters especially talking about the Quidditch season.

As they arrived at the station the New Marauders were engrossed in a conversation on this very topic. The general consensus (even from Hermione) was that everyone was glad for it to be back after the events of the previous school year.

Harry could still remember the day that Professor McGonagall had announced to their house in the common room that the season had been cancelled due to the attacks on students.

He been devastated.

That devastation had however turned into determination. A determination he was sure he shared with the rest of his team to win the cup this year not least due to the fact that Oliver Wood their Captain was leaving in June and this would his last hurrah.

"We've got to win it this year!" Harry said enthusiastically "just think what it would mean for Oliver".

Draco agreed "he'd be over the moon, by all accounts it's what he's wanted since becoming Captain, to win it in his last year".

"You'd better not fail him then" Ron said seriously.

"I doubt I'm even in the main squad this season" Draco said matter of factly as they pushed their trolleys along the platform "with Katie being back I'll be relegated to back up".

"Not necessarily" Hermione chimed in "you were great last season Draco, there's bound to be trials for places".

Harry's parents, followed by Draco's parents went through the barrier to platform 9/34's first with Mr and Mrs Weasley staying by the barrier to see all of the students through before crossing onto the platform themselves.

The moment Harry pushed his trolley onto the station he paused in shock.

Not because of the reporters who were already hassling his relatives for his whereabouts but because the station was packed full of Aurors.

Every six or so feet of the station platform had an Auror, wand out, ready for any trouble.

It really brought him to Harry that there was dangerous criminal on the loose and he was most likely after Harry himself.

Harry pushed his trolley over to his relatives and along with Ron, Draco and Ginny said their goodbyes. His sister Molly and brother David were both there.

He hugged his younger brother and said "you be good Davy, but don't forget to prank your Dad and my Dad okay?" he then high fived his brother who laughed.

Next came the goodbye to Molly. He pulled her into a bonecrushing hug.

After a while he pulled back and she said "it's not fair you know, I get left behind again, I've got no one to play with it's so boring".

"You're lucky that they're even letting you come next year!" Harry pointed out, laughing "it's a full year early".

"I know it's just...oh listen to me moping...you have a great term Harry and I'll see you at Christmas".

She turned serious "keep safe".

He nodded seriously, ruffled her red hair to which she loudly objected and then moved over to his parents and surprisingly his Uncle Peter and Aunt Celia who had obviously come specially "hey Uncle Wormy" he said, using the nickname his Uncle had been given by he and his friends when they were younger.

His Uncle grinned and said "hey Harry, looking forward to another year?".

Harry nodded happily and then noticed his Aunt looking slightly queasy. He decided to point this out to his Uncle "Uncle Wormy, is Aunt Celia alright?".

"Hmm?" Peter replied, looking to his right "oh...yes, she's fine Harry...more than fine actually, in fact...".

"Can I have everyone's attention?" he said to the assembled family "Me and Celia..." he grabbed his wife's hand "have something say" he handed it over to Celia who was beaming "I'm pregnant!" she squealed happily.

There was a moment of silent surprise at this and then a rush of congratulations.

After this Harry went over to his parents.

His Mother pulled him into the tightest hug she had ever given him and he wasn't surprised to feel tear drop splashing down onto his jumper "you aren't to take any risks, you hear me young man?" she said sternly but emotionally "you stay safe and in the Hogwarts grounds at all times" she pointed a finger at him as she released the hug "no sneaking to Hogsmeade because we'll know" she said and then pulled him into one last lingering hug "I love you very much sweetie" she said.

"I love you too Mum" he replied with a smile.

Finally it was his Dad's turn to say goodbye "I know everyone else has said it but...be careful, take no risks and don't go outside of the castle walls except for lessons" he pulled his son into a tight hug and said "I love you Harry".

After Harry had replied that he did as well, he and the others got onto the train and moved along the carriage with their trunks trying to find a compartment.

They found their usual one halfway down the carriage. It was surprisingly empty except for one man half lying, half sitting on the right hand side up by the window.

He was wearing a crumpled brown suit and his light brown hair was flecked with grey.

Harry would recognise him anywhere "Uncle Remus!" he shouted in surprise.

The half asleep man sat up with a start looking around. When he saw Harry, his look of surprise morphed into a massive grin that spread across his face and matched his twinkling green eyes.

After Harry had stowed his trunk and helped the others, he plopped down on the seat next to Remus with Hedwigs cage next near him and Ginny right next to him "what are you doing on the Hogwarts Express?" Harry asked him curiously.

Remus smiled widely and informed them all "I have been asked by Headmaster Dumbledore to take up the post of Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher and I have accepted".

There were many cried of surprise and delight as Harry, his brother Draco and their friends all rushed to congratulate him.

Hermione even began to question Remus on just what he would be teaching them this year "well I can tell you that we will be starting with learning about Boggarts" he told them confidentially.

After talking at length to Remus, the students settled themselves down to their pursuits as Harry engaged Ron much to his folly in a game of Wizards Chess and Hermione and Ginny chatted about the year ahead.

As the train journey went on many people they knew came and went, Luna and Neville found them and settle down in the carriage with them to talk and play games. Fred, George and their friend Lee Jordan even popped in at one point to speak to them and enthuse over Remus becoming a Professor which they felt was long overdue especially in light of the last two Professors.

And of course, no Hogwarts train journey would be complete without the visit of Mr Pureblood mania himself Theodore Nott who seemed even more full of himself than usual and his two goons Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

It was Harry's opinion that none of three truly liked each other. He believed that Nott only used them for protection and returned the favour by helping them with their studies.

"A Potter, two Weasels, a Mudblood, a Fool, a Dreamer and a Blood Traitor" Nott said as he slid open the compartment door.

Harry knew he had to watch his temper but also had a secret weapon.

"You're not going to bait me this time Nott, you best push off now" Harry said calmly.

"Are you gonna make me you pathetic Half-Blood?" Nott said, getting up in Harry's face.

Harry's friends and brother stood as one, ready to take on the other three "I believe Harry asked you to leave Nott" Hermione said firmly.

"Why don't you sod off you filthy little Mudblood!" Nott replied aggressively.

At this Ron, Neville and Harry whipped their wands out only for Draco, Ginny and Luna to intervene and prevent them doing something stupid.

Remus finally stood up and got involved "Mr Nott I believe you should listen to them and leave...now" he said calmly but firmly.

Nott eyed him up and down taking in the crumpled suit and battered briefcase "and just who are you supposed to be? the wandering tramp?" he asked, laughing as if he'd made the worlds funniest joke.

His two goons chortled along with him "leave now Mr Nott" Remus insisted again. Harry could tell his Uncles patience was slipping.

Nott squared up to his Uncle, his wand out "or what you pathetic failure of a wizard?".

"That's it Mr Nott, you've just earned a weeks detention and I think twenty points from Slytherin".

Nott looked at him aggressively "just who do you think you are to do this?" he asked angrily.

Harry lowered his wand and grinned "I presume you haven't met Mr Remus Lupin before Nott" he responded with a laugh as his friends also laughed.

"He's the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher" Draco informed him between his laughter.

"And you've just insulted him and called someone a Mudblood" Ron added.

"Bit stupid really" Neville said.

Hermione simply nodded as did Luna and Ginny.

Nott gaped at all of them in turn and then at Remus "you had best leave now Mr Nott and I will be speaking with Professor Snape when we reach Hogwarts to inform him of the loss of points and the detention for you".

Nott and his goons quickly left after this pronouncement.

When they had gone, the students in the compartment began to howl with laughter.

Luna was laughing so hard she'd fallen to the floor and was banging her fist on the carpet.

Remus simply settled back down in his seat with a smile at this.

The train continued to steam northwards.

* * *

About an hour out from Hogsmeade station, as Harry was engrossed in a discussion with Ron about who'd win the upcoming Premier League football season, the train ground to a halt.

It wasn't gradual. It was sudden. Very sudden.

Hermione looked outside and frowned "we're not at Hogsmeade yet, why have we stopped?".

Harry was getting a bad feeling in his stomach about this.

"I don't like this" Draco remarked and one look told Harry that his brother was as concerned as him about this.

The lights began to flicker. They all looked up "wands out" Remus instructed and all of the New Marauders took them out "aim for the doorway" Remus instructed. They did so and waited.

They didn't have to wait long. The lights suddenly sputtered out, leaving not just the compartment but the entire train in pitch darkness.

"Lumos" muttered Hermione and a bright white light filled the compartment illuminating the scared and nervous faces of everyone.

Harry heard it before he saw it. Something was emitting a sound. A long rattling sound which Harry took for breathing.

He'd read about only one creature that made such a sound. The compartment door slid open and in glided a creature out of nightmare.

It was garbed fully in long black robes, it's hood pulled up tight obscuring where it's face would be.

The creature glided nearer and nearer. Harry heard it's rattling breath, saw a bony hand make a grab for him, saw what passed for eyes. Dark, soulless orbs. He shivered violently. It was so cold.

He heard a woman shouting and screaming "not Harry!, take me!, kill me!, please not Harry!". He clapped a hand over his ears trying to block out the sound but to no avail. He heard the response, cold and amused "stand aside!, stand aside you silly girl!".

He heard another scream, saw a flash of green light and shouted "no!" as he fell to the floor. He blacked out then and knew no more.

* * *

When Harry came round, he was confused to find himself lying on the floor of compartment. The last thing he remembered was the cold and screaming and...that creature coming towards him. He shuddered violently as the memories rushed back to him.

A figure knelt down next to him "here" a voice he recognised as his Uncles said gently "have some chocolate, it helps" he snapped off several squares and handed them to Harry before passing some around to the others and eating some himself.

Ron pulled Harry to his feet and Harry sat down next to his Uncle feeling very embarrassed "was that what I thought it was?" he asked him bluntly.

Remus nodded heavily "a Dementor".

"What was it doing here Professor?" Luna asked sounding scared.

Remus turned his kind eyes to Luna "I spoke with the driver after I left here, apparently the Ministry set the Dementors to search the trace for any trace of Mundungus Fletcher".

Everyone looked appalled at this news and Ron exclaimed "they let dark creatures loose on a train full of students! that's crazy!".

Remus nodded and sighed "I'm afraid Minister Bones is bowing to pressure from the Wizengamot for a tougher response, if Fletcher isn't caught she may be removed from office".

Everyone looked sad at this news "I hope she isn't, she's always been a good leader" Neville said and everyone else agreed with these sentiments.

A new thought came into Harry's mind unbidden and he voiced it "who was screaming?".

The others frowned at him "screaming?" Ron replied "when?".

"When that Dementor came into the compartment" Harry said in a tone that implied it should have been obvious.

Everyone except Draco looked confused and worried now "no one was screaming Harry" Hermione said gently.

Before Harry could voice how offended he was at their thinking him mad, Draco stepped in "Harry heard it and through our link...I heard it too" he told them sincerely.

Draco looked at him sympathetically "you know who it was that was screaming Harry...think" Draco urged him.

Harry thought for a moment before it came to his mind and he said quietly "my birth Mother Lily" there were tears coming down his cheeks now "I was hearing her last moments".

His tough exterior cracked and he soon found himself sobbing into Ginny's shoulder while Remus rubbed a hand on his back and the others all looked sympathetic.

Finally and mercifully the train journey was at an end as the train pulled into Hogsmeade station.

Given what had already happened, Harry was certain it was going to be yet another eventful year despite his hopes for some peace and quiet.

* * *

The trip up to the castle in the usual seemingly horse-less carriages was much more subdued than usual as the incident with the Dementor was still very fresh in everyone's mind and the effects of it had not worn off.

Harry noted as they were about to get into the carriages that all the luggage was being searched. His name and the names of all the other students and teachers were taken by the Aurors standing guard by wrought iron gates.

By the time they arrived in the Great Hall for the opening feast and Sorting Ceremony, Harry was feeling tired and miserable.

All he really wanted to do was get upstairs to his dorm and climb into bed.

He felt like he could sleep for week. He just about managed to stay awake as the students were sorted.

Next to him Ron remarked "I swear the First Years are getting smaller" Harry grinned at this and took a closer look. The students did indeed seem to be shorter than last year though maybe that was just because he was getting taller.

The Ceremony took a while to complete as the largest intake of students yet took place.

When the last student had been sorted, the Headmaster Albus Dumbledore stood up to rapturous applause which he acknowledged with a smile and a twinkle of the eyes. Gesturing with his hands he managed to calm everyone "thank you for the kind reception" he began "well, we enter another year at Hogwarts and as usual there are the start of term notices to go through before the feast begins and you are too befuddled" there was much laughter at these words.

The Headmaster continued "as usual all students please note that the Forbidden Forest is just that...Forbidden and out of bounds to all students" as he said these words he was staring directly at Fred and George weasley who grinned and high fived.

"The list of contraband has been expanded to include Fizzbangs Fireworks, the full list of items is available to view in the office of our Caretaker Mr Argus Filch" Dumbledore gestured to possibly the least popular man within the castle.

"And finally we have two new staff appointees this year, first please allow me to introduce Mr Remus Lupin who has consented to take over the post of Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher for this year".

At these words Harry and most of Gryffindor House and many from the other houses as well rose to applaud the man in the crumpled brown suit who merely smiled and said "hello" very politely before sitting down.

After the applause and cheering had died down, the Headmaster continued his speech "and finally, Professor Kettleburn has sadly decided to retire in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs and as a result we welcome a new Care of Magical Creatures teacher, he is someone known to most of you, our Keeper of Grounds and Keys our own Rubeus Hagrid!".

Harry gaped in amazement. No one had said anything about this.

His large friend got to his feet a bit shyly. Smiling and his feet red as a radish.

After regaining his composure, Harry clapped harder, louder and longer than anyone.

The Weasley Twins whistled loudly and many Gryffindors cheered happily. Hagrid was very popular among most people at the school.

Harry was overjoyed for Hagrid. He knew how long his friend had wanted to become a Professor and knew that Hagrid would put his all into teaching.

He resolved to help Hagrid out to make his friends lessons a success.

Eventually the applause died down and Dumbledore declared "Quidditch trials shall take place this coming Saturday and Sunday, anyone wishing to take part should submit their name to the Captain of their House team as soon as possible, that is all and now a new song by our very own Frog Choir".

The choir performed their song and got a lot of applause and finally Dumbledore declared the feast could begin.

After all of the courses had come and gone and Harry had eaten and drank his fill he was feeling very sleepy but as everyone began to leave the hall to head off to their common rooms or living quarters in the case of staff, Harry, Draco and the others made a bee line for Hagrid who was just heading down from the staff table.

As they reached him he said "alright there you lot?" he was beaming at them all.

"Congratulations Hagrid!" Hermione said happily "we're so pleased for you".

"Yeah you deserve it Hagrid" Ron added.

Draco, Neville, Luna and Ginny also added their words of congratulations causing Hagrid to blush "d' yeh really think I've got what it takes?" he asked in concern.

With Hagrid being so tall Harry couldn't pat him on the shoulder so he settled for patting him on the hand and said "Hagrid I can't think of anyone who deserves this more than you, you'll make a wonderful teacher".

Harry saw a tear run down Hagrids cheek at these words. The half-giant thanked them and then headed from the hall.

After a short time they followed the last few stragglers.

* * *

That night, Harry settled down in his four poster feeling very relaxed and thoroughly looking forward to the first day of a new year.

As his eyes began to close he heard over his mental link "goodnight Harry" from Draco and replied sleepily "goodnight Draco, see you in the morning".

He slipped into a comfortable sleep then his mind totally devoid of any thoughts about Mundungus Fletcher or Dementors.

* * *

Authors Note: so another chapter over. Hope you all enjoyed it. In the next chapter we get Hagrids first lesson, a very enjoyable DADA lesson and Quidditch trials. It probably won't be as exciting as previous chapters but I feel some normal chapters are necessary to relieve tension.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I lay no claim to any characters save Lucy, Janice, David, Celia & Molly. All other characters belong to JK Rowling.

* * *

Authors Note: As I said at the end of Chapter Seventeen this Chapter will be more relaxed. Hope you enjoy.

As an additional, please note that although I forgot to include it in Dumbledore's speech, there are Dementors guarding the grounds.

* * *

Chapter Eighteen: First Day Back

Harry woke up, blinked, reached over to his bedside cabinet and picked up his glasses. Slipping them on he looked at the time on his watch, it said six thirty am.

After lying back against his pillows for a moment and feeling no urge to return to sleep, he decided to get up, grabbing his clothes, shower things and a towel he slipped on his comfortable slippers and walked over to the bathroom.

One hot shower and a change of clothes later and he was feeling refreshed and ready to face the day.

Knowing that classes didn't start until nine am and that none of the other New Marauders would be up before eight, he decided to go and do some exercises as he had begun doing when he was training with Remus.

He grabbed his wand and water bottle and headed down to the common room.

Just as he was about to go out through the portrait hole a voice said "and just where are you sneaking off to at this time of the morning?".

He groaned at the sound of Hermione's voice.

He had been told by Ron in a private conversation last night that Hermione and the others had been tasked with keeping him within the castle walls except for Quidditch and Care of Magical Creatures and that if he went to see Hagrid then Neville, Ron, Hermione and Draco had to go too.

Harry had been angry at this. He didn't like being treated as a baby especially given what he'd been through the past two years.

He turned around and found his best friend lying on the sofa, feet resting on the arm, a book propped open on her stomach.

"I'm just going for some exercise in the grounds Hermione" he said calmly.

He turned to go but she spoke again "in that case, seeing as no one else is up, I'm coming with you" he sucked a breath in feeling irritated.

Hermione hadn't been training as he had, she would slow him down and most likely talk endlessly.

He loved his friend to bits but he really needed some time alone this morning before everyone else was up and about.

"No you aren't" he said sharply and before Hermione could properly react he sprang for the portrait hole, stepped outside and headed down the staircases to the main staircase.

He had just reached the large front doors of the castle when another voice said "I don't think so mister, not without me".

He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, recognising the voice of his girlfriend Ginny Weasley.

By the time he'd opened them again she was standing right in front of him.

Harry blinked in surprise as he saw that she was wearing the same clothing as him, a grey tracksuit.

"What..." he began to say only for her to put a finger to his lips.

"I'm the best at running amongst my siblings Harry and you know I won't pester you, just think of it as being me exercising next to you".

Harry laughed at this and said "ok, if you want to come that's fine, Hermione was trying to come too but well...".

"She's too talkative and you want some peace" Ginny finished for him and the two shared a laugh.

They headed out into the early morning and Harry savoured the breeze which felt pleasantly cool on his skin. As they ran through the grounds Harry noted that there were many Dementors, more than he'd believed there could be, on the edge of the grounds, floating about sinister and menacing in the early morning guarding the entrances and other hidden entry points.

"I don't trust them" Ginny said quietly as they began to jog down to Hagrids cabin.

Harry snorted "only the Ministry would be stupid enough to trust dark creatures to guard a school full of children".

They stopped "I heard your Dad was against it" Ginny said as they moved over to a wooden bench nearby.

As they sat down Harry replied "as was your Dad, good thing there are two brains at the Ministry eh?".

Ginny laughed and the two of them suddenly fell into companionable silence.

Harry stared off towards the Forbidden Forest, thinking.

"Knut for them?" Ginny said.

"What?" Harry replied as he turned his mind away from his thoughts.

"Whatever you were thinking about" she said with a slight smile.

Harry sighed, "I don't want to burden you with it Gin Gin".

Ginny grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes. She looked very serious "you have never been and never will be a burden to me Harry" she told him.

Harry smiled a bit at this before his face fell again "I was just thinking about the reason that Mundungus guy is after me" he said.

Ginny's face fell too. Harry continued "you know, if I wasn't the "Boy Who Lived" he wouldn't be after me, if I hadn't defeated Voldemort".

"Harry the guy that's after you is disturbed, who knows what his mind is like, you say he wouldn't be after you but you don't know that".

Harry thought on this "the worst part is that I'm not even afraid for myself, I'm afraid for you" he took her hand and rubbed it "and for Draco and Ron and Neville and Hermione and even for the the Twins and Percy".

"You don't need to worry about us" she said. Harry could tell she was trying to reassure him but it didn't help "I do though, as long as he is after me, you and everyone else I care about is in danger".

Ginny had some words of wisdom "how do you know he's even anywhere near Hogwarts?" she said.

Harry thought about this "hmm, maybe you're right" his face broke into a smile "maybe I'm worrying about nothing" he hugged her tightly for a long moment.

When he let go, he said "thanks Gin Gin, love you" and kissed her on the cheek.

The two of them stood up and walked back to the castle at a leisurely pace.

* * *

As they reached the main doors of the castle, Harry glanced down at his watch and saw it was already seven fifty am.

He and Ginny headed up to Gryffindor Tower for a shower each and to change into their school clothes.

As they entered the common room through the portrait hole Harry saw Hermione sat on one of the sofas near the fireplace reading.

Feeling a bit guilty about earlier he whispered to Ginny "I'll see you in the Great Hall".

Ginny smiled, kissed him on the cheek and headed up to her dorm room after saying "morning Hermione".

Hermione greeted her back and then her eyes fixed on Harry. She looked annoyed.

Harry grimaced and approached her.

Sitting himself down next to her he realised he'd have to be the first to speak and so he said "I'm sorry about earlier".

Hermione set her book down "you really upset me Harry, I was only looking out for you".

Harry sighed "I know you were Mione, I love you like a sister but...and don't take this the wrong way, you talk too much a lot of the time".

Hermione looked offended so Harry scrambled to clarify "it's not a bad thing to talk but earlier this morning I really wasn't in the mood for it, I simply wanted to train and clear my head".

Hermione nodded at this explanation "I understand, next time I'll ask if I can come along and I promise I'll be more quiet if we train".

Harry grinned "friends still?" he extended his hand.

Hermione laughed and slapped him on the arm "of course we are you prat".

* * *

Ten minutes later Harry and the rest of the New Marauders were heading to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Draco was giving him a knowing smile. He'd been wearing it ever since Harry had told him he'd been alone with Ginny earlier.

Ron was yawning loudly and still looked half asleep.

In actual fact he had only got up when Harry arrived in their dormitory for another show and to change into his school uniform.

Harry'd had to wake him up and it hadn't been an easy task at all. His friend being the deep sleeper he was was snoring loudly.

Harry had shaken him, shouted and even pushed him out of his bed but his friend slept so deeply that he still hadn't woken up.

Harry remembered the spell he'd learned last year and aimed his wand at Ron "Aquamenti" he called out. A great jet of water shot from the tip of his wand splashing across Ron's face and upper body.

His friend awoke with a start as if he'd just been zapped. He banged his head on the bedside cabinet and had stared around himself in confusion.

Harry couldn't help himself, he'd burst out laughing alongside Neville who had been getting dressed.

Ron had been annoyed and said "oh very funny Harry" stomping off to the bathroom.

Hermione meanwhile was busy questioning Neville and Ron's decision to take Divination "why would you take Divination?" she said disdainfully "according to Professor McGonagall it's one of most imprecise and pointless branches of magic there is".

At this Ron and Neville both shrugged and replied "it's easy".

The others were exasperated by this and Harry glanced over at Ginny who was holding his hand. She rolled her eyes at their words causing Harry to shake his head while grinning.

As they entered the Great Hall they met Luna, who, not surprisingly because of her eccentric ways, had struggled to make friends in Ravenclaw.

The rest of the New Marauders greeted her warmly and they all entered the Great Hall laughing and joking as they sat down at the Gryffindor table.

Harry had only been sat for a moment before Oliver Wood the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team approached him.

They shook hands "Harry great to see you" Wood said. They hadn't seen each other since the end of the last school year as Wood had been unable to attend Harry's birthday party.

"Hi Oliver, good summer?" he asked the older boy causing Wood to smile.

"It was interesting thanks Harry, we went on a tour of Wales and climbed up Mount Snowden".

"Glad to hear it" Harry replied.

"Listen, Harry, just thought I'd give you the heads up that, having talked with Professor McGonagall, I've scheduled Quidditch trials for this Saturday as per usual and I want you to help me make the choice of who gets on the team".

Harry was gobsmacked at this. Last year he'd gone through the trial process for the Seeker position despite his friends, brother and Wood all telling him he was the best.

"Oliver, that would be good but...".

"No Harry" Wood said firmly "you aren't going through the trial process anyone, you don't need to, you are the very best that we have".

Harry could see his Captain wouldn't be swayed from this stance and so replied "alright then, what time do the trials start?".

"I was thinking nine am, gives everyone a chance to be up and ready and us a chance to assembled everything" Woods face turned grim for a moment "I hope we don't have any further accidents like last year".

Harry nodded, his face serious. He recalled the incident in which one of the hopefuls trying out for a place on their team had been seriously hurt in a fall and the trials had to be stopped for the day "I'm sure it'll be alright Oliver, it was just a freak accident".

Wood nodded and then said "I can't wait to see what you can do on your broom this year, that Nimbus 2001 is incredible".

Harry looked from left to right, ahead of him and then behind. When he was convinced that no one else was listening he said, quieter than usual but with a wide grin, "actually my parents, aunts and uncles all clubbed together to buy me a Firebolt".

Woods eyes widened in surprise and then delight, "a Firebolt!" he said a bit louder before dropping his voice "that's amazing Harry! with a Firebolt you'll be unstoppable, we'll be unstoppable. The other teams won't know what's hit them".

Harry grinned at this. Wood then strode of happily and Harry sat down to breakfast "what did Oliver want?" Neville asked him.

"He wanted Harry's help to preside over the Gryffindor Quidditch trials" Draco said as he put some toast with marmalade onto his plate.

Harry glared at his brother feeling that sometimes he really didn't want this mental link "that was my news Draco" he said irritably.

Draco grinned "sorry brother mine" his brother then turned his attention to his toast.

"He said I didn't have to try out again" Harry told them all.

Ron said something to this that Harry couldn't work out as his friends mouth was full of food.

"Ron don't speak with your mouthful!" Hermione chided their friend, causing everyone to laugh.

Ron swallowed his food and said "sorry Mione. He's right though Harry, you proved yourself last year and in First Year. If anyone deserves to be on the team it's you".

Harry nodded at these words though he still felt he was being unfair to someone else who might have wanted to try out for the Seeker position.

As this feeling hit him, he glanced over at Ginny. She smiled at for a moment before returning to eating a crumpet.

Harry knew that ever since Ginny had been little, she'd wanted nothing else than to be a Seeker.

Harry hoped she could at least get on the reserve team. She deserved to.

As Harry was engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't hear the footsteps until the person was nearly standing next to him "are you alright Mr Potter? you look as if in a daydream?" Professor McGonagall said making Harry jump slightly as he had not expected her to be there "I'm fine thanks Professor" he said sheepishly "I was just deep in thought".

At these words Professor McGonagall smiled approvingly and nodded over at Ron who was busy stuffing pancake into his mouth "would that some others thought so deeply" she quipped in amusement.

Harry smiled and laughed a bit.

The Professor began to hand round timetables.

Harry already knew what his subjects were for the year as he'd made a long and agonising choice shortly before his birthday.

He'd had balance wanting to spend time with his best friend Ron and wanting to take subjects where he'd learn more, especially more practical magic.

It was with this in mind that he'd chosen as his electives, Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes.

Ron and Neville had been very disappointed when he told them he wasn't taking Divination.

He'd said as he had a feeling Hermione would, that it was a very imprecise branch of Magic and not one meant for serious study.

Harry opened up his lesson plan and found that Monday was much the same as before with just two differences, the first being that he be taking Care of Magical Creatures first that morning in place of Charms which was usually first. The second difference was his Ancient Runes elective being a double lesson from two until four pm.

As Harry glanced through the rest of his lesson plan it all seemed very straightforward. He thanked the Professor for the lesson plan and went back to eating his breakfast.

By chance he glanced over at Hermione's lesson plan and frowned in puzzlement.

Her lesson plan showed, though it was impossible, that she was taking five electives. Five!.

Harry knew that the maximum number of electives was three as some electives overlapped with other electives.

And yet despite this, Hermione had Divination pencilled in for that afternoon and below it in the same time period...Ancient Runes.

Harry felt he should say something about this and so said cautiously "um...Hermione?" Hermione smiled as she looked at him "yes Harry?" she said brightly.

"You have too many electives on your timetable, you can't take Divination and Ancient Runes at the same time" he said.

"I'm not going to be, don't be silly Harry" she said coldly.

Harry wasn't sure what else to say. He was about to return to his meal when Draco spoke "Hermione, the maximum number of subjects you can take is ten but with these electives you have thirteen subjects and some at the same time".

"No they aren't!" she denied hotly.

"They are Mione" Ron said peering over her shoulder at the timetable and then added incredulously "why are you taking Divination? you told me that it was the most pointless subject taught here".

"I'd still like to learn more about it before dismissing it Ronald" she said.

Then Neville pointed out in confusion "and why take Muggle Studies? you're Muggle-born Hermione, you don't need to take it".

Hermione sniffed irritably "I thought it would be fascinating to learn about Muggles from a Wizards perspective" she said sulkily.

For the rest of breakfast she ignored them and when they tried to talk to her on the way through the castle and down the grounds to Hagrids cabin, she refused to speak.

She only started talking to them again when they met Hagrid.

It seemed they were the first students so Harry took the time with the others to speak to their large friend "hi Hagrid, looking forward to your first lesson?".

Hagrid smiled nervously "to tell yer the truth Harry I'm feeling a bit worried. I think it'll be a good lesson but I've never taught anyone before so I'm not very authoritative".

"You'll do great Hagrid. Won't he guys?" Hermione said.

Everyone voiced their agreement.

Soon Harry and his friends were joined by Dean, Seamus and the Gryffindor Third Years including Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown.

Harry got on fine with Parvati who was pretty intelligent but not so much with Lavender who seemed to be constantly daydreaming and did very little learning.

The next voice he heard after the other Gryffindors was a very unwelcome one "I can't believe we have to meet out here, near this...this...hovel" Nott said disdainfully before turning his attention to Harry "well if it isn't the Boy Who Lived" Nott said sarcastically.

Harry turned around and found that Nott was standing right next to him smirking in his usual smug way.

Next to Nott were his cronies Crabbe and Goyle as well as Pansy Parkinson a simpering, sneering girl who seemed to be a perfect match for Nott.

"Go away Nott, the lessons about to start" Harry said simply as he turned back to face Hagrid.

"Right now everyone, I've got a great lesson for ya today, so if you'd all follow me..." he said as he began to head to the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

There was much chattering and muttering between students as they got to the edge of the Forest.

They went a short way in, up to a low stone wall.

There was a pen containing many beautiful looking creatures. They all had pristine white feathers, beaks and yellow eyes which gazed around imperiously at the students, some of whom took a step back.

"Oh they're beautiful!" Parvati and Lavender both enthused.

Harry couldn't help but agree with this sentiment.

"Big dumb brutes" Harry heard Nott mutter to one of his cronies. He heard them laughing. Turning around Harry said "shut up Nott, they're far more intelligent then you".

"Ooh, Potty Potters got a thing for Hippogriffs!" Nott joke and then laughed as did his friends.

Harry barely restrained himself.

He knew that punching Nott or attacking him with spells would be a bad idea as he'd already been told off for it both last year and the year previous.

Sometimes however, he couldn't help it. Nott was so arrogant, so ignorant of life, such a snob that Harry just wanted to hex him.

'Breathe Harry' a voice came into his head. It was Ginny's voice 'let it go, the idiot isn't worth it' Harry turned away from Nott and smirked at this. Ginny was right as always.

"Now has everyone got their books?" Hagrid asked.

Everyone nodded "in that case I'd like yeh to open them up to page five" he told the class.

Most of them just stood there looking confused. Nott spoke up loudly "and just how do you suggest we open them...Professor".

Harry narrowed his eyes. Nott had said this last word sarcastically to show he clearly didn't believe in Hagrid as a teacher.

"Hasn't anyone figured it out yet?" Hagrid asked the class in disappointment.

Harry watched as everyone else shook their heads.

Harry however was not surprised to see that Hermione had put her hand up "I've managed it Professor" she said earnestly.

Harry smiled as Hagrid blushed at Hermiones use of his new title.

"Very good Hermione. Since the rest of yeh don' know, yeh just have teh stroke the spine of the book" he said.

To demonstrate this, the newly made Professor, reached into his pocket and picked out a snapping and snarling book.

He ran his hand along it's spine, causing it to shiver and fall open, ready for learning.

"Right, now all of yeh try it" he instructed.

The entire class had a go.

Hermione did it successfully on her first go as did Draco.

Harry, Ron and Neville took more time with Neville being almost savaged by the vicious book.

He was annoyed to see that fathead Nott had managed it one go as well.

"Now, if yeh've all managed it, turn to page five and read the section on Hippogriffs while I get these one's here ready for yeh all" he told them.

After they had read the correct page, Hagrid said "now who would like to try greeting a Hippogriff first?" Harry stepped forward somewhat nervously and found that only he and Draco had actually done so.

There was a tense moment when Harry approached the creature that Hagrid had named Buckbeak.

For a moment Harry thought the creature would turn hostile as it screeched.

After backing away for a moment Harry approached again.

This time he bowed before the proud creature.

There was a moment of silence with the creature staring at him as if to size him up. Then however it was all plain sailing. He walked up to the creature and patted him before Hagrid convinced him to go for a ride.

He shrieked and yelled with joy as the creature flew all around the grounds, skimming the surface of the black lake and zooming over the towers before landing back on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Everyone cheered and clapped except for Nott and his friends.

As Harry was talking to Hagrid who was congratulating him, he saw from the corner of his eye, Nott approaching the creature.

Harry broke off his conversation and began running. "You aren't dangerous at all are you" Nott said with a snort of derision "just a big dumb ugly brute aren't you?".

Harry had just reached Nott when Buckbeak reared up.

Without thinking, knowing what would happen to Buckbeak if Nott was attacked, Harry threw Nott aside and took the full force of Buckbeaks talons on his arms.

He cried out in pain but didn't fall to the ground. He merely backed away as Hagrid came rushing over to calm the animal.

It turned out however that there was no need to as Buckbeak was full of remorse for attacking Harry and actually came over to check on him.

"It's alright Buckbeak, I know you didn't mean to" Harry assured the creature as he patted him on the arm.

"Hagrid, Harry should go to the hospital wing" Hermione said seriously.

"Of course he should, I'll take him, class dis..." before Hagrid could finish talking Harry said "no Hagrid, it's your first lesson, you keep teaching, I can get up there myself".

Before Hagrid could respond, Draco cut in "no Harry, I'm going with you".

Harry decided not to argue given his brothers talent for such a thing and nodded instead.

They headed off telling their friends they'd see them in Defence Against The Dark Arts and with Harry assuring Hagrid "it's alright Hagrid, I'll speak to Professor Dumbledore and to my parents so they all know it wasn't your or Buckbeaks fault".

As they were moving up the sloping lawns with Harry's good arm draped over his brothers shoulder, Draco asked the question that Harry knew had been coming "what the hell were you thinking?".

Harry gritted his teeth at the pain in his arm before speaking "it wasn't to save Nott believe me, I just knew that if Buckbeak attacked that idiot then Hagrids job would be on the line and Buckbeak would be in danger".

Sadly, neither of them considered for a moment that Buckbeak was in danger anyway as back on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, a hateful Theodore Nott was plotting to have Hagrid removed or at the least have the Hippogriff destroyed.

* * *

Madam Pomfrey had tutted and remonstrated and fussed around him like an old mother hen but had declared Harry to fit enough to attend his next lesson once she had cleaned the wound and healed the scratches up.

"You must be careful they don't open again Mr Potter" she said seriously and Harry promised to be careful.

They met Ron, Neville and Hermione outside of the DADA classroom and they were all happy to hear that Harry was doing good.

Ron also had some news for them "Nott's been given a detention!" he said gleefully.

Harry and Draco grinned "what for?" Harry asked.

"Hagrid said it was for his disrespect in not paying attention in class, insulting a proud animal and endangering a student" Hermione supplied for them.

"He has to help Hagrid with some creatures he's planning to show us next lesson, he has to feed them and everything" Neville said.

It was thus, that Harry entered the Defence Against The Dark Arts classroom feeling elated in spite of the slight twinge in his arm.

For the first time ever in DADA Harry and his friends chose seats on the front row as they eagerly awaited the entrance of Harry's Uncle Remus.

Harry noticed most of the students had come in just after them and more arrived after a few minutes.

The classroom door opened and in strode Remus confidently, in his crumpled suit, a black cloak flowing behind him.

After setting his books on the teachers desk and removing the cloak which he draped over the back of his chair, Remus looked round at all the eager faced students and said with a warm smile "good morning class".

They all replied politely and he began to take the register.

When he was done he said as he saw their books out and quills at the ready "please put your books away class, we have a practical lesson today, please follow me".

The students duly put away their books and followed him out of the classroom.

Some of them were excited, others more apprehensive. But all were interested to find out what they would be doing.

Remus led them down several corridors until they reached the staffroom.

He opened the door and held it open for the students gesturing them inside.

Harry entered, giving him a quizzical look to which his Uncle merely grinned.

Once they were in Remus closed the door.

Before he could say anything else a voice spoke "hello Remus, good first day so far?" it was Severus Snape another man who was like an Uncle to Harry.

"Oh hello Severus, yes it's been enjoyable. I was just about to teach the class about Boggarts".

At these words Severus smiled "ah yes, I remember when I had tackle one as a student" his face fell then and Harry had the feeling he was remembering something not very nice "well Remus, I'll leave you to it, have fun everyone" he said as he got up from his armchair and exited the room.

Harry stared after him with pity.

His Uncle Severus had never really talked much about his childhood but Harry got the impression that it hadn't been a happy one even here at Hogwarts.

"Right everybody, now in here..." the wardrobe began to rattle and many students looked nervous.

"in here is what is know as a Boggart. Can anyone tell me what a Boggart looks like?".

Several hands shot up in the air including Harry's, Hermiones hand however was the quickest and so Remus said "yes, Hermione".

Hermione smiled "please Sir, no one actually knows what form a Boggart takes when it's alone as when you face it it morphs into the thing we fear most".

"Very good Hermione take five points for Gryffindor" Hermione smiled and the other Gryffindors congratulated her.

Remus continued "as Hermione here has said, a Boggarts true form is mysterious, unknown and probably unknowable, as they morph into the thing we fear most they can change into anything and everything. Is anyone able to tell me how you defeat one?".

Again, several hands shot into the air though less than last time. For once, Harry was quicker than Hermione who put her hand down in disappointment as Remus pointed to Harry "yes Harry".

"You have to point your wand at it and say Ridiculous. But the incantation alone isn't enough, you have to think up something that makes what you fear less scary and then you say the incantation".

"Well done Harry, take another five points for Gryffindor" Remus took out his wand and tapped it "well, lets all have a go at saying Ridiculous, get out your wands and on the count of three..." everyone got out their wands "one, two, three...".

The entire class chanted "Ridiculous".

Remus had them do again, louder and more enthusiastic.

He then made them do it several more times until they completely believed it.

"Right, now that we know what spell to use, it's time to tackle a Boggart, I'll open this wardrobe and you step up one at a time to change it's form and confuse it" he instructed "Neville you first".

"Now Neville, what do you fear most?" he asked the boy.

Neville answered "my Gran".

Remus laughed "yes Lady Longbottom is a formidable woman isn't she" Neville grinned a bit.

"Right Neville I want you to picture you Gran as she normally is, then point your wand, visualise making her ridiculous and say the word, ok?".

Neville nodded confidently and prepared himself.

Neville succeeded first time and was followed by Parvati Patil, her sister Padma followed and so it went on with Ron's turning into a large spider which he changed to wear clown shoes and lose his legs.

It finally came down to Harry but just as he was about to face it, just as the Boggart changed form, Remus stepped in front of him, shouted "Ridiculous!" and the Boggart changed into the moon.

Harry knew why this was even though most of the others didn't.

Remus then changed the moon into a balloon that had been popped and sent it back into the wardrobe which he promptly locked.

When everyone else was filing out of the staff room back to the DADA classroom for their school things, Harry hung back wanting to ask Remus something.

He approached his Uncles desk while his brother and friends waited by the door "Professor..." he started.

"No need to call me Professor when we're alone Harry" his Uncle said.

"Alright, Remus, why did you stop me facing the Boggart?".

His Uncle looked at him in evident surprise "I would have thought it obvious why I did so Harry".

Harry shook his head.

"I thought the creature would turn into Lord Voldemort" Remus explained "and I couldn't risk having him moving about the staff room now could I?".

Harry was silent for a moment and then admitted "I did think of Voldemort at first but then I remembered the Dementor on the train" Harry shuddered at the memory of his first encounter with such a creature "yes I see. That's very impressive Harry" Harry didn't see what was so impressive and frowned.

Before he could say anything in reply however, Remus continued "it suggests that what you fear is fear itself, this is indeed a very wise thing".

Harry wasn't sure what to say so he called out to his friends "head off to lunch I'll see you in a bit".

Harry saw his brother give him a concerned look before heading off with the others.

Remus made them some tea and the pair of them went up to his office and settled down to drink it.

"I presume you believed I didn't think you capable of facing a Boggart" Remus said shrewedly.

Harry shrugged "it did cross my mind" he confessed.

Remus took a sip of tea then set it back on the saucer "well I can assure you Harry that this is very much not the case, had I not been convinced you'd conjure up an image of Voldemort, I'd have let you face it with no hesitation".

Harry smiled at this and the two of them then spent and enjoyable half an hour talking about Quidditch and his first Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

* * *

Harry met up with his friends and brother in the Great Hall. His girlfriend, Ron's sister Ginny, was there sitting next to them.

He took a seat next to her and kissed her on the cheek "hey guys" he said to everyone.

"Hey love" Ginny said.

"What did Remus say Harry, about the Boggart?" Hermione asked.

Harry smiled a little "he stepped in because he thought I'd conjure up Voldemort in the staff room".

"You weren't going to...were you?" Neville asked a bit nervously.

Harry laughed and shook his head "no Nev, I was actually thinking about the Dementor on the train".

Everyone shivered involuntarily.

Even the name of the creatures seemed to spook people out.

* * *

After lunch was finished, Harry and Hermione said goodbye to Ron, Neville, Draco and Ginny.

Ron and Neville were off to their first Divination class, Draco to Arithmancy, Ginny to Defence Against The Dark Arts which Harry assured her would be a good lesson with his Uncle teaching and Harry and Hermione went to their first Ancient Runes class.

For Harry the class was very hard going but enjoyable. A sight more enjoyable than Divination or Arithmancy would have been for him for certain.

And besides the subject matter the Ancient Runes teacher Bathsheda Babbling who was a portly, elderly woman was very kind and helpful. She reminded Harry of the Grandmother he'd never had.

She even offered tuition to anyone having difficulties with the subject.

Harry was thankful that Hermione had convinced him in a letter over the summer to do some reading of his text books otherwise he'd have really struggled.

As Harry and the others entered the dormitory that night they found something that shouldn't be there.

Hermione's cat Crookshanks was chasing something round the room.

It took Harry awhile to realise that it was a ferret.

He knew that Ron had found one near Hagrids cabin after the lesson was over and as Ferrets were allowed as pets he had the thing checked over by Madam Pomfrey who gave it a clean bill of health.

"Oi! leave Minky alone!" Ron shouted at the orange cat and began to chase him.

Eventually, Ron managed to grab the ferret called Minky from the floor and clutched him close to his chest, stroking his fur.

As Harry picked up Crookshanks and was taking him, hissing and spitting, passed Ron and Minky, he noticed that the ferret had a bald patch on top of his head.

Harry didn't find this particularly odd, simply putting it down to a fight or some other incident.

As he settled down for sleep that night, Harry felt that overall it had been a good first day back.

* * *

Authors Note: Another Chapter done everybody. Anyone who has seen what Mundungus Fletchers Animagus form is in this story, will know what Crookshanks' reaction to the ferret means.

Hope you all enjoyed the Chapter. In the next Chapter tension grows between Hermione and Ron, the Quidditch Season starts and there is trouble for Buckbeak and Hagrid.


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling except for David, Molly, Janice, Celia & Lucy who are my original creations.

* * *

Hope you all enjoyed the first Chapter of Third Year. There will be a bit more excitement and more arguments in this one.

* * *

Chapter Nineteen: Arguments, Quidditch, Buckbeak and Sighting

It was early Wednesday morning and Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione along with the other Third Year Gryffindors had just come back to Gryffindor Tower following an exhausting midnight Astronomy lesson.

Harry hated Astronomy. He hated anything that prevented him from getting a decent nights sleep.

The thing that most annoyed him at the moment however was not losing sleep or studying a subject that held little interest.

The thing that annoyed him the most, was the constant bickering between two of his best friends.

It seemed to Harry that since Monday night when Crookshanks, Hermiones cat, had been caught chasing Ron's new pet around their dorm room, all Hermione and Ron had does was argue.

Ron would accuse Hermiones cat of being a pest and a horrible orange blob, despite the fact that he had praised the cat back at the Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione for her part would hit back by saying that it was just what cats did and it wasn't as if ferrets couldn't defend themselves.

If Harry was being totally honest, he was getting sick of it. It had been going on for twenty four hours.

Their arguing had been so bad in Astronomy that the pair had nearly earned themselves a detention for not paying attention to the Professor or to their task.

As the group headed up to Gryffindor Tower for a few hours of sleep before morning classes (their first class wasn't until ten am due to the Astronomy lesson) another argument broke out "you need to keep that ugly orange fur ball away from my pet Hermione or I'll chuck it out of the Tower" Ron threatened.

At these words Harry saw Hermione get angry "don't you dare threaten him! he just follows his nature!".

Harry had finally had enough. As the group of five climbed in through the portrait hole he cut off a retort from Ron with a furious "will you two shut up!".

Ron and Hermione glared at him for getting involved only for their glares to subside when they saw just how mad he really was at them.

"I love you both like family" Harry began "but your arguing is driving me insane! you two need to sort this out and I have a perfect solution" Harry turned to Ron "Ron you keep Minky up in our dorm room with the door firmly shut, that way Crookshanks can't go near him".

He turned to Hermione "Hermione you keep Crookshanks in your dorm room and away from Minky".

Hermione and Ron still glared at each other "I am sick of this fighting, we are meant to be friends, best friends, we're meant to be there for each other not spend all of our time arguing like little kids, now shake hands and make up or I'm expelling you both from the group".

He spoke calmly but firmly. The threat hung in the air for a moment before Hermione sighed and said "Harry's right Ron, I'm sorry, I should be keeping a tighter control over Crookshanks. I promise that he'll never go after Minky again".

With a firm look and a nod, Harry indicated Ron to apologise as well "I guess if you're willing to keep that pe...erm...that cat away from Minky then I can apologise too. I'm sorry for shouting Mione".

"Now kiss and make up!" Neville shouted causing the other Gryffindors to laugh and agree.

The tension in the air was burst for now.

Though for how long, Harry had no idea.

Following the conclusion of that argument life settled down to quiet routine.

On the first Saturday of term the Quidditch trials were held in warm but overcast conditions.

The same team was confirmed to play for Gryffindor this year as last year with the full team being:

Oliver Wood - Captain and Goalkeeper

Angelina Johnson - Deputy Captain and Chaser

Katie Bell - Chaser

Alicia Spinnet - Chaser

Fred and George Weasley - Beaters

And of course Harry Potter as the Seeker

Harry was pleased that Draco, Ron and Neville managed to get onto the team as reserves as did his girlfriend Ginny.

What pleased him the most was that most Gryffindors knew it was because of their talent not because he was friends with them.

He had as a matter of fact refused Wood's offer to help select the team in order prevent ideas of favouritism.

Harry had made the decision that after the arguments of the past few days they should plan a prank.

He had in mind to play the prank on Slytherin House as he felt that Nott and his goons deserved it due to Nott's arrogance with Buckbeak and his disrespect of Hagrid who was a great friend to all of the New Marauders.

On a warm Sunday, two weeks after the start of term, Harry and the rest of the New Marauders decided to have tea with Hagrid.

He'd invited them even before the school year had begun.

When they got to his cabin on the edge of the woods however, they found the curtains drawn at the windows and no sign of life within.

They knocked repeatedly on the front door but received no reply. No one got up to answer it "I can hear crying" Draco said in confusion as he put his ear to the door.

The others copied him and also could hear crying.

This alarmed Harry as the last time he had heard his big friend crying was when Harry had almost been killed in the dungeon chamber by Quirrell and Voldemort.

They knocked a bit more and were surprised when the door was opened by... "Professor Dumbledore" Harry exclaimed.

He had not been expecting the Headmaster to be visiting Hagrid.

He noticed the Headmasters face looked solemn which alarmed Harry even more given that the elderly wizard usually had a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"Ah Harry, Draco, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Luna" he said nodding to them all in turn "you'd better come in, I think Hagrid needs his friends right now. I've been trying to cheer him up with no success and I am needed back up at the castle I'm afraid".

"Don't worry Professor, we'll look after Hagrid" Harry assured him "right guys?" he said as he turned around to face the others and received nods or verbal confirmations that this was so.

Professor Dumbledore took his leave of them and they went inside.

The atmosphere was heavy with the smell of firewhiskey and must and indeed Harry noticed two glasses on the large wooden table in the centre of the main room.

It was clear that whatever had upset their large friend had been enough to cause him to drink, heavily.

"Hagrid?" Harry said tentatively.

Hagrid looked up and Harry could see that his eyes were red and blotchy and a bit bloodshot. No doubt from a combination of crying and too much drinking.

"H'llo Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville, Ermione, Ginny, Luna" the half-giant greeted them sounding despondent.

"What on earths happened Hagrid?" Harry asked in concern.

Hagrid sobbed a bit.

Harry nodded to Draco to make some tea for them all.

When they'd sat down, tea in front of them, Harry said "what's got you this upset Hagrid?".

Hagrid sniffed and told them "so, on Friday evenin, after school had finished, this fella in ministry robes knocks on me door and gives me this" the large man gestured to a piece of parchment.

"He said it was to do with Buckbeak" Hagrid began to cry again and motioned for Harry to read it.

When Harry got halfway through he turned pale.

It was a letter from the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures and it declared that Hagrid was to bring Buckbeak up to London for a hearing on the creatures future. The letter declared the hearing was to be held in January to give Hagrid and the Committee time to prepare as well as the person who had brought the complaint.

As Harry read the name of the man who had demanded a hearing be held he felt his blood boil in fury.

Patroclus bloody Nott was causing problems again for Hogwarts and for the people Harry cared about.

Harry passed the letter around to his brother and friends who all read it through.

"Surely they can't do this Hagrid" Ron exclaimed in disbelief.

Hagrid shook his head "they have ultimate power over the life or...or death of dangerous creatures and Nott has much pull in the Ministry".

"We won't let him get away with this Hagrid, I was the one who accidentally got hurt, not Nott, his Dad has no case because I'll testify that it was an accident and his precious son riled up a gentle and calm creature".

"You..you would?" Hagrid croaked in amazement.

Harry nodded and smiled slightly "of course Hagrid, you're my friend, I'll always help you if I can".

Hagrid smiled weakly and patted his shoulder causing Harry to nearly fall from his chair.

"And we'll help too" Hermione declared "I've read legal texts before, I'm sure I can find a precedent for Buckbeak to not be harmed" she said.

"Yeah we'll scoured as many texts as we can and build up a case" Draco promised.

The rest of them also added their intention to help.

At the end of it, Hagrid was so emotional he cried a bit but then he said in a choked voice "thank you, thank you for helping Me and Beaky".

After the seven of them had finished their tea (but not scones) and had managed to calm Hagrid down, they left the cabin and trekked back up to the school through the grounds.

Harry was burning in anger.

He'd held a strong dislike for Nott before.

But now with this incident his dislike had turned to outright hatred.

It was clear that just to get at him, his nemesis had told his Father of the incident with the Hippogriff and most likely was the one to convince has Father to bring proceedings against both the Hippogriff for being a dangerous creature and Hagrid for not being responsible.

Harry knew one thing, Hagrid had become very cautious and worried about his job after the Buckbeak incident and had switched from showing them exciting or interesting creatures to the most boring creatures Harry ever know in his life. Flobberworms.

They were small, didn't move much and had to be fed very carefully.

Harry would never usually be so uncharitable with an animal but he would never see the point of looking after a Flobberworm.

The creatures had no use whatsoever.

Harry felt a resolution in him to help his friend and not only that, to ensure that Hagrids confidence in his teaching ability was rebuilt.

* * *

The days went on and Harry was somehow managing to avoid letting Nott get to him this year.

It was the 31st of October. Halloween.

It was a day generally not celebrated by Harry or his family due to the events of 31st of October 1981.

Harry had woken up early that morning and gone for his now customary jog around the grounds joined by Ginny and Draco.

Right now he was waiting patiently in Headmaster Dumbledore's Office for his Dad.

They were supposed to be going to the village of Godric's Hollow which was a mix of magic and muggle.

The plan was to visit his Mum Lily's memorial in the church yard followed by a quick stop to see their old home and then back to Marauder Manor for lunch before Harry flooed back home.

Just as Harry was getting impatient, glancing at his watch, the fireplace flared out and out stepped his Dad.

James Potter looked thoroughly exhausted and Harry knew from his letters home and two way mirror conversations with his Sister Molly, that their Dad was under a lot of pressure.

Not pressure just because he was expected to catch Mundungus Fletcher but also pressure from himself to do the deed.

His Dad had bags under his eyes but right now he was smiling "ready to go Harry?".

Knowing the stress his Father had been under, Harry decided against pointing out how late he was and merely replied "yeah, all set Dad".

James ruffled his sons hair, two said goodbye to Professor Dumbledore and exited the office.

* * *

They arrived at the charming village of Godric's Hollow via the fireplace of the Vicar who was himself a wizard.

He greeted them warmly as they did to him.

They then stepped out into the October morning air.

As they walked their graveyard Harry could feel a definite chill in the air and it was obvious to him that winter was not far off.

They soon found the memorial to Lily and after placing a bunch of flowers on it, proceeded to tidy it up a bit to make it look more respectable.

They took their coats off and sat down on them starting the statue.

The plaque that highlighted his Mothers name and age was as shiny as ever.

Harry felt eerie knowing that one of his parents had died when she was just eight years older than he was now.

"She'd still be alive if not for that damn traitor!" Harry burst out fiercely, startling his Father as they had been in deep silence.

His Father sighed "we believed he was one of us, although he came from Hufflepuff he was like the fifth Marauder, you know how there were people called the fifth Beatle? well that was him to us, he helped us plan pranks and carry them out. We laughed with him, shared our joys and our sorrows, he even knows Remus is a werewolf".

"You really trusted him that much?" Harry asked in amazement.

His Father nodded grimly "we thought he was our friend but then..." his Fathers eyes began to shine with tears "then he betrayed us".

"Why?" Harry asked, trying to understand why someone would betray their friends.

His Father snorted "why does anyone betray anyone else in this world? he was given power and would have been given much more power and wealth if you hadn't stopped Voldemort".

"So that's why he hates me" Harry said aloud.

His Father nodded.

Harry had one last question as they sat there staring at the statue "do you think he's after me still?".

His Father closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again Harry could see that his normally warm and happy hazel eyes were filled with tears that began to fall "yes I do Harry but he won't get you" his Father said fiercely.

He pulled Harry into a tight hug and Father and Son stayed that way for a long time.

* * *

That night Harry returned to Hogwarts. He'd asked his Dad to return when the feast would be nearly over.

He had no wish to partake it in whatsoever.

As he walked up the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower he was sure that he could hear much shouting from within the common room.

He thought he recognised the two voices that were having a war of words and sure enough as he drew level with the portrait hole he could distinctly hear Ron shout "your cat killed my pet!" and then heard Hermione fire back "you don't know that Ronald! he may have run off!".

Harry gave the password and the Fat Lady let him enter with a word of caution "I would avoid the freckled boy and the bushy haired girl if I were you".

As Harry stepped in he found his two friends glaring at each other from across the common room while most of Gryffindor House watched on including Ginny, Draco and Neville, a visiting Luna was also there.

Everyone was looking very uncomfortable with the whole situation especially Harry's friends and girlfriend who had idea which one of the two angry teens they should support.

Harry was gobsmacked.

For weeks now things had been fine between his two best friends. There'd been no arguing of any kind save minor trivialities.

"Run off!?" Ron yelled indignantly. He held up a bed sheet on which there was blood and some fur.

Harry saw Hermiones intake of breath before she responded "that still doesn't prove anything Ron!. Minky could have got hurt by a falling object or hurt himself trying to escape the dorm room".

"Oh come off it Hermione, it's no coincidence, your fur ball hated Minky. He was always trying to get at him and you say he didn't kill him?".

Harry knew he had to intervene and so, reluctantly, he stepped forward through the press of people to break up yet another argument "guys, people are watching you, this isn't the time or the place to be talking about this" he said calmly.

Ron turned to Harry and glared at him. Harry had never seen that look aimed at him before "stay out of it Harry" he said harshly "this is between me and Hermione and that stupid orange fur ball".

"Don't you dare call him stupid!" Hermione flashed angrily "he's more intelligent than you are!".

Ron gaped at her for a moment before declaring "well at least I'm not a know it all who shows everyone up!" Ron then stormed towards the staircase and the boys dorms.

Before he reached them he turned back for a moment to call out "stay away from me Hermione!".

"Fine I will!" Hermione called out.

Harry sank into a nearby armchair and put his face in his hands.

He didn't know how much more of this arguing he could take.

The worst thing was that both of them had valid points which meant that this argument couldn't just be dismissed as groundless.

He felt someone flop down on the arm of the chair "you alright Harry?" it was Draco.

He heard someone else flop down and saw Neville on his right "like Draco said, are you ok?".

Before Harry could answer he found that Ginny and Luna had both crouched down by his feet.

He looked round at them all and saw them looking at him with concern "I'll be alright guys" he said heavily "I just wish they'd stop fighting all the time".

Harry could tell from the determined look on his girlfriends face that Ginny wasn't going to stand for him being upset.

As she stood up he said "Ginny there's no need".

Ginny looked at him seriously "there's every need Harry. They have to learn their fighting has consequences".

Harry said nothing to this and Ginny strode over to Hermione "Hermione".

Hermione turned round into a slap.

The sound was loud, reverberating around the room and Harry had no doubt that it stung badly "how dare You and Ron behave like this!" she said furiously "you know where he's been today right?" Hermione, still in shock nodded "and you know how he feels about Halloween?" again Hermione nodded "then you and Ron need to grow the hell up because Harry has had to deal with a damn sight more than lost or dead pets and animals being called stupid, You and Ron had best stay the hell away from him until you are both ready to behave like intelligent people and not idiots".

She then stormed from the common room calling out "I'm going to tell my idiot brother the same bloody thing!".

Harry and everyone else stared after her in surprise at this as Ginny got on very well with Hermione and vise versa.

After a few moments people resumed their activities from before the argument and Harry saw Ron's brothers Fred and George go over to Hermione while Percy headed over to himself.

He heard the conversation the Twins had with the bushy haired girl "our sister was right, you two need to stop acting like little kids and grow up, you two really have been the best of friends to Harry lately".

They walked off and Harry could see Hermione silently mulling this over "hi Harry" he heard Percy say as he reached him "my brother and Hermione were really out of order". He grabbed a wooden chair from a desk nearby and sat on it "I know today can't have been easy for you what with the anniversary and everything. If you need to tall about it I'm here alright" Percy patted his shoulder and Harry flashed him a grateful smile "thanks Perce" he said.

Percy smiled back, ruffled his hair and walked away.

Harry reflected that along with Fred and George, Percy was the older brother he'd never had. They watched out for him, cheered him, laughed with him, cried with him.

Sometimes they were better friends than Ron and Hermione.

After a short while Harry heard footsteps on the stairs and turned to see Ginny heading into the common room.

She looked serious and sat down next to him. He pulled her into a hug "thanks for sticking up for me love" he said with a smile.

Ginny smiled back "it's what couples do love and those two needed taking down a peg or two".

"What did you say to Ron?" Harry asked curiously.

Ginny's face hardened "I told him to stop being so damn selfish and to think of you and his other friends more often, I said that the last thing you need on Halloween on what's already a bad day for you and your family, is for him and Hermione to be fighting".

Harry kissed her forehead and murmured "you are the best girlfriend ever".

They spent much of the night curled up in the armchair, at peace.

* * *

The first week of November went by and their was much tension in the air.

It was clear to everyone that Hermione and Ron had taken Ginny's threat seriously in part as they had come nowhere near Harry since Halloween.

Not only that but Draco, Neville and Ginny weren't talking to them and only hung around with Harry as did Luna to show how much they disapproved.

In this climate of tension Harry had put on hold the prank against Slytherin as he was no longer in the mood for it and he knew none of the others were either.

It was now the first Saturday of November and after two months of practice and tactical sessions, Gryffindor was ready for their first match against Hufflepuff.

That Saturday morning Harry woke up with a deep sense of foreboding.

He wasn't sure why but that day it seemed like something was going to go horribly wrong.

Even after an early morning jog around the grounds in blustery and rainy conditions the bad feeling lingered.

He mainly put it down to the bad weather (the rain was coming down heavily) and to the rift in his friendship caused by the two of them who were not only ignoring each other but avoiding him.

He had wanted to say something to them but last night Ginny had told him that they had to make the first move to repair the friendship.

Harry had realised that, as always, his girlfriend was right.

The gloomy weather as Harry headed down to the Quidditch stadium flanked by his brother and girlfriend and with Neville and Luna just behind, made his mood worse.

It was just too much on top of everything else.

By the time he entered the changing rooms he was soaked to the skin, shivering and his teeth were chattering "here Harry let me help" Wood said as he walked up to him and muttered the incantation for the drying charm.

Steam began to rise from Harry's clothes and skin and in moments he was dry and warm "thanks Oliver, I appreciate it".

"No worries Harry, wouldn't want our star playing coming down with the flu or worse" Wood replied as he went over to get changed.

Harry himself got ready very quickly and was soon joined by Fred and George who got changed and the three of the chatted about the gloomy weather and their chances.

Harry had thankfully remembered to cast an impervious charm on his glasses to prevent the rain from impairing his visibility too much.

Eventually, Angelina, Katie and Alicia arrived and after chatting briefly they heard the sound of a throat clearing and knew that Wood was about to give one his fiery speeches.

"Today's the day everybody, we've been training for this for two months" Wood said calmly at first "we were robbed of the trophy last year when the season was cancelled" he began to pace "we will not let that happen this year. It's been my dream since before I came to Hogwarts to lift the Quidditch Cup in my last year" he eyed the team "I need this" he told them.

Harry could see an intensity in his eyes that he had not noticed before "FOR GRYFFINDOR!" Wood bellowed at last.

This seemed to galvanise the Gryffindor Team who shouted "GRYFFINDOR!".

Finally the team exited the changing rooms stepping out onto the pitch to thunderous applause as, rather ironically, thunder boomed overhead and lightning crackled in the sky.

Even as the Captain of Hufflepuff Cedric Diggory shook hands with Wood and the teams prepared to kick off, the rain continued to hammer down furiously.

Harry was convinced it would be a near impossibility to find the snitch.

'I have to try though' he told himself resolutely. For himself, for Gryffindor, for Wood and most importantly to get out of this damn rain.

The whistle blew and fifteen brooms rose high into the air.

Harry only just about heard the commentary of the Twins friend Lee Jordan "and the match begins, a match up of two good teams here, though Gryffindor has Harry Potter".

"Jordan" came the warning voice of Professor McGonagall.

"Sorry Professor" the boy replied.

Harry tuned out the commentary from this point as he began to search all around him for the small golden ball that would win the match.

Despite the impervious charm and his lightning fast reactions he couldn't see the snitch anywhere.

He watched as his opposite number whose name he didn't know, continued to search the sky for the snitch.

After twenty minutes of getting wet and feeling miserably Harry was surprised when he saw the tiny golden ball enter his field of vision.

He zoomed after it as it sped through the sky.

The Hufflepuff Seeker had noticed it too however and a battle ensued between them for capturing it.

After bashing their brooms against each other for awhile Harry succeeded in shoving the other boy away and looked around for the snitch only to curse in frustration as it had once again disappeared in the late morning gloom.

Harry tuned in to the commentary again and was happy to hear that the team were up sixty points to thirty.

If only he could find the damn snitch.

It was another ten minutes before he saw it again flitting through the sky.

A quick glance at his opposite number found that the boy had not noticed it.

Harry quickly adjusted his broom and gave chase, climbing higher and higher and flying further and further from the pitch as the snitch twisted and turned in the air.

This high up it was cold. He shivered and his teeth chattered.

Suddenly the snitch changed course and began to fly back towards the pitch.

As Harry renewed his chase he got a sudden very cold feeling in his whole body.

Memories began to flash before his eyes. His Mothers death, falling off his broom when he was eight, being kidnapped by Deatheaters, killing Quirrell, fighting the basilisk and Lockhart.

Harry knew what was happening even as his thoughts turned to outright despair.

It felt as if all the happiness, all the goodness, anything kind, was gone and the world was one mass collage of grey.

It was as his countenance changed that he saw them through the gloom. Flying towards him, the vision of death in living form.

He saw their robes as black as night, heard their death rattles that passed for breathing, saw their eyes dark, soulless.

He knew he had to get away.

Determinedly he kicked hard and sped off after the snitch even as the minions of death chased him.

After what seemed like an eternity his hand closed on the snitch.

He was horrified however to see his arm begin to freeze up.

As if in slow motion he slid from his broom.

Memories of a summer day in 1988 passed terrifyingly through his brain.

He fell and fell, seeing the ground loom before him and knew with a despairing certainty that this was it.

Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the one who was supposed to defeat the evil of Voldemort, died from a fall off a broom.

If he hadn't been so terrified he'd have laughed at the absurdity of it all.

When thinking of ways to die this had not been at the top of his list in any imagining.

As he fell through the clouds towards the ground he thought he could hear people screaming, shouting, crying.

His eyes closed and he felt no more.

* * *

He awoke in a familiar, brightly illuminated room. He opened his eyes and looked around.

He tried to sit up but found that just the slightest movement was pure agony.

Harry licked his lips.

He felt very thirsty. He tried to move his arms but found that nothing happened.

"What...where...how?" he mumbled intelligently.

His voice was very hoarse and his throat felt as though cheese wire had been wrapped around it.

"Harry!" said an overjoyed voice.

He knew that voice "Ginny?" he said shakily.

He felt someone grasp his arm and felt a kiss being planted on his forehead "yes it's me my love, I'm here".

He looked to his left and saw his girlfriend sitting on a chair right up against the bed.

"What happened?" he asked.

A different voice answered him "you fell from your broom Mr Potter".

Madam Pomfrey came into view and began to examine him "it's a miracle that you survived. You fell from a hundred feet, no one could have survived it and neither would you Mr Potter were it not for your brother".

"Draco" Harry croaked.

"Harry you're alright" a voice said in relief.

"Draco!" Harry shouted, trying to sit up.

The effort put much pressure on his ribs which began to ache painfully "Mr Potter be more careful" Madam Pomfrey chided in concern.

Draco approached the bed and sat on the edge.

Harry could tell that his brother was worried about hurting him further as instead of their usual full on hug he merely put his hand on Harry's shoulder and smiled.

"Harry!" came another voice from the doors into the hospital wing. Harry looked over at them and saw Hermione running towards his bed.

Her eyes were brimming with tears.

Behind her looking very subdued was Ron.

Hermione looked like she wanted to hug Harry but instead kissed his cheek and said "I'm sorry for the way we've been behaving. We've been idiots".

Harry knew exactly who she meant and was about to wave it off when Ron spoke.

His best friend's voice sounded haunted "she's right, we've been bloody selfish arseholes, when I saw you falling..." his friend took a deep breath and tried to blink his tears away.

"We're sorry we screwed up our friendship with our fighting Harry".

"It doesn't..." Harry tried to say only for Ron to cut him off.

"For a while there on the Quidditch pitch I thought you were dead" he said quietly "if you'd died without me being able to make it up, to tell you that I love you like a brother..." Ron shook his head and began to cry.

Hermione hugged him.

Harry looked at his two best friends and realised just how remorseful they were.

Life was too short for such petty disagreements.

He'd faced death so many times now that he was losing count.

He also knew that despite their bickering and occasional stupidity, there were few other people as loyal to him as Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger "guys" they looked at him "I forgive you, it's time to move past it all".

* * *

James Potter was just planning to head off to lunch after finishing up a very depressing report on the slaughter of a muggle family by two pureblood supremacists, when there was a knock on his office door "come in" he called as he finished typing.

The door opened and in stepped John Dawlish one of his senior Aurors "yes John?" he said as he looked up from his work.

"We just got this report in boss, a team of DMLE wizards in Edinburgh caught sight of Fletcher".

Dawlish handed him the folder containing the report. He flicked it open and read through it.

His face paled and he looked up "none of them survived?" he queried.

Dawlish shook his head sadly "not a one. The report comes from our local Auror squad who managed to question one of the wizards before they died and he specifically said that the man was bald, short and shifty looking".

"That could be anyone" James said as he mulled it over.

Dawlish's next words put paid to these thoughts "the wizard killed all of them while sustaining no injury to himself".

"Do they know where he's headed?" James asked in concern as he closed the file.

He noticed that Dawlish gulped and took a long time to answer. Eventually he did saying only one word "North".

James put his head in his hands.

If Fletcher was heading north, it confirmed what he and his team suspected, the wizard wanted Harry either dead or meant to kidnap him.

He knew he had to take decisive action. He stood up "Dawlish I want you and Shacklebolt to head to Hogwarts now, you'll take a team with you to guard the students".

Dawlish nodded seriously "I also want the Auror presence in Hogsmeade beefed up, take another five Aurors to protect the village".

Dawlish nodded again and left without a word, his face set in determination.

James grabbed his wand, slipping it into it's holster and walked to his office door.

As he went to open it a loud whooshing sound came from the fireplace.

He turned his head at the sound and was astonished to see Sirius's head in the flames "Padfoot" he said happily "how did the match go?".

Sirius's face turned grim and James knew instantly that something was wrong "what's happened?" he asked, worry making his insides churn uncomfortably. The response he got nearly caused him to retch.

"It's Harry" Sirius told him "he fell from...well...really high up" Sirius said "he's badly hurt and in the hospital wing".

James had to grab onto the wall to steady himself as he said "tell everyone I'll be there soon".

Sirius' head left the flames which died away. James walked or rather stumbled to his office door. Opening it, he called to one of his Aurors "I'm going to be away from the office for the rest of the day, I have to see my son".

Not even waiting for a reply he hurried back into the office, slammed the door and rushed to the fireplace where he took a pinch of floo powder, dashed into the fireplace, threw the powder down and called out loudly "Headmasters Office, Hogwarts!".

He disappeared in a flash of green flame as his worry for his son threatened to overwhelm him.

* * *

Authors Note:

A kind thanks to everyone who has read, favourited and reviewed this story so far and in the future and a special thanks to fhl1234 for their kind reviews.

I really enjoyed writing this chapter.

Third Year is advancing along. We've had our first major sighting of Fletcher since he escaped Azkaban, Harry has been hurt and the tension that has been surrounding the New Marauders has abated.

In the next chapter we shall see Harry's recovery, a haunting sight on the Hogwarts grounds, a warning, preparations for Buckbeaks trial and the first prank of the year by the New Marauders.

Everyone who is reading this, it would be good to have suggestions of names for Peter and Celia's baby who is only now a few months away from being born.


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling except Celia, Molly, David, Janice, Lucy & any other characters you don't recognise.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello to all my wonderful readers and reviewers out there. Hope you are having a good time.

I'd like to give a special shout out to fhl1234 for giving me suggestions of baby name's for Celia and Peters baby.

Hope you enjoy this chapter and please don't forget to leave a review. Thanks.

* * *

Chapter Twenty: Recovery, Pranks & A Warning

Lucy was sitting on a plush sofa in Albus' office, sobbing.

Next to her were Janice and Celia who were trying to comfort her.

She felt so useless. So helpless. Her son, her little boy (well maybe not so little now) was lying in the hospital wing in pain and discomfort.

She hadn't been able to prevent him from getting hurt.

The scene flashed through her mind again in slow motion as she watched with the rest of the crowd at an object that seemed to be falling through the sky at rapid speed.

As the object cleared the crowds and fell further towards the stands she realised with a dawning horror that it was Harry.

Her son was plummeting to the ground and there was nothing she could do to save him.

She screamed and screamed and cried as her family tried to comfort her.

Sirius stood up with his wand and began to mutter a spell.

She vaguely noticed Albus doing the same thing.

As Harry closed in on the ground, his descent slowed considerably.

He still however hit the ground with enough force to make Lucy howl in grief in the belief that he was dead "no! Harry! no!" she shrieked over and over as Albus, Severus, Remus and Professor McGonagall all rushed from the teachers box and down onto the pitch.

They were joined by Madam Pomfrey who Lucy saw examine him and shake her head.

She had thought that that was it.

Later she had learned that Harry was going to be alright.

His brother Draco had used his remarkable healing powers to deal with the life threatening injuries such as the internal bleeding and the pressure on Harry's brain.

He would still need a few weeks to recover but compared to what could have happened Lucy felt this was nothing to be worried over.

When Madam Pomfrey had broken the news to her that Harry was going to live and that within a few weeks he would be back on his feet and good as new she had cried tears of joy and when the Medi Witch had informed her of just why he would live she had embraced Draco in a bone crushing hug and wept into his shoulder murmuring in relief "you saved him. You saved my boy, thank you".

She had been so proud of Draco when he'd replied "it was nothing. It was my duty as a brother".

She had kissed him on the forehead and hugged him even tighter at these words.

She was brought back to the present as she heard a whooshing sound from somewhere nearby and in a matter of moments had been pulled into a warm, comforting embrace.

She knew instantly who it was and sobbed "oh James thank god you're here!".

"It'll be alright my love, he'll be alright" he murmured in her ear as he kissed her on the forehead.

When they broke apart she told him haltingly about the incident and Harry's condition "it was the Dementors" she told him "some of them chased after Harry and caused him to fall from his broom at a very high height".

She watched her husbands face pale and knew instantly what he must be thinking. She moved quickly to assure him "he's going to be alright James. I was worried just like you when they brought him to the hospital wing. I thought he would die but Draco..." she smiled shakily "Draco put his hands to Harry's head and drew out the injuries, Harry's still got some sore ribs, a broken leg and arm but he'll be alright in a few weeks".

"Oh thank god" she heard her husband exclaim in relief "Draco is the best brother Harry could ask for, he deserves a bloody award" James said chuckling slightly.

After a moment, Lucy heard her husbands voice turn serious "Albus what were the Dementors doing going after my son?" James asked angrily.

She heard a sigh and looked at Albus "Dementors are dark creatures as you know all too well James. They are not to be trusted and should not be here, they will go after anyone for any reason".

Albus walked over to them and Lucy could see that this incident had affected him too. Not surprising as he thought of Harry and his siblings as grandchildren.

"I demanded that the Dementors be removed stating they were a danger but the Minister refused to listen. She said they were necessary to capture Fletcher and they would be removed when he was caught not before".

"Why didn't you insist as Chief Warlock?" James demanded.

Again Albus sighed. He removed his glasses, rubbed tired eyes and replaced them "if only it were that simple James, you know I cannot simply demand something. Most of the Wizengamot believe these creatures to be a necessary evil and I fear I will not dissuade them".

Lucy heard her husband sigh "very well. We're going to see our son".

Albus nodded.

* * *

It was late at night and Harry was lying in his bed in the hospital wing.

He had wanted to leave that day but Madam Pomfrey stated that he could only leave in the morning after a night of observation and once his crutches were ready.

As lay in bed he thought about earlier on.

He had been lying in bed. Draco, Ginny and the others round his bed trying to cheer him up.

The hospital wing doors had banged loudly open and in had rushed his parents. James first, followed by Lucy.

He could see how upset his two parents were as they made a bee line straight for his bed.

Without even having to ask it, his brother and friends retreated from his bedside while Ginny left after kissing him on the forehead and saying she loved him.

"Oh Harry, you're alright" his Dad had exclaimed in evident happiness and relief.

His parents took seats either side of his bed and he had spent the night hour talking about the match, the Dementors and what he had thought was his death.

He also expressed to them a wish to learn spells to repel Dementors.

His Dad had informed him that he was planning to ask Remus on his sons behalf and for Draco and their friends as well to see if Remus would be willing to teach them all a certain spell that was highly effective in forcing back the vile creatures.

Harry had been delighted to hear this and then bade goodbye to his parents who told him to call them on the two way mirror the next day to inform them of how he was doing.

Harry sighed internally at this.

He knew how protective they could be after incidents like this and hoped that it wouldn't a repeat of last time where he was kept cooped up in his room for several weeks in absolute boredom.

As he was lying in the dimly lit room thinking about all of this, a noise began to emanate from the two way mirror that was tucked under his pillow.

It was a voice "Harry? Harry are you there?".

Harry grinned as he heard the voice he wanted to hear for months.

He checked that Madam Pomfrey wasn't watching and then reached under his pillow to extract the mirror.

As soon as he saw her face he grinned, only for his grin to fade from his face as he saw that his normally tough sister had been crying "oh Harry I'm so glad to see you" she said in relief "I know Mum and Dad said you were alright but...well...I wanted to check for myself, so...are you?".

Harry smiled and nodded "my ribs are sore still, I have a broken arm and leg but I'll be fine sis, don't worry, we Potters are tough remember?".

His sister laughed slightly at this before responding "I really thought that would be it this time Harry".

"Me too" Harry said grimly "thank god for Draco, he saved me".

"Mum and Dad said that too" she said "how did he do it?".

"He placed his hands on my head apparently and drew out the worst of the injuries leaving only the minor ones".

"well it looks like you aren't the only who's going to be getting a big hug then when you two get home for Christmas".

Harry yawned, feeling very tired.

His sister noticed at once "you need your sleep bro, I'll check back in with you tomorrow, have a good night".

"Night sis, talk to you soon, love you" Harry replied.

"Love you too" she said before disappearing.

Harry felt grateful that night for the dreamless sleep potion that was given to him to make his rest more comfortable.

* * *

The day after his near death experience Harry was released from the hospital wing under strict orders from Madam Pomfrey to do nothing strenuous for the next week.

As he was helped to Gryffindor Tower by Ron and Neville who were either side helping him walk in his heavy leg cast and by Draco who had been tasked with opening doors, he said "I hate this".

"Hate what?" Ron asked.

Draco jumped in "he's about to start complaining about how he doesn't want to be a burden to us".

Harry glared at his brother for a second before his look softened "Draco's right, that's exactly how I feel".

"Well that's a stupid thing to feel Harry" Neville told him seriously "you aren't a burden, we're your brothers, we may not be blood related but we view you as much brothers as you view us brothers".

"Just as Neville said Harry" Ron added "families look out for each other and you're our family, you always will be so it's not a burden to help you".

"You see, we won't let you be morose brother mine" Draco told him plainly "we're going to keep you cheerful and optimistic".

True to their word, his brothers and sisters (he viewed his friends as such) and his girlfriend spent the next two weeks leading up to the start of December playing jokes, playing games with him and laughing.

They had even declined to visit Hogsmeade for the first time unless he went with them for which Harry felt grateful if a bit guilty.

As Ron had put it "we've been there before so it's not that important".

Harry had been touched by this sentiment.

* * *

December arrived and with it the weather got colder and snow began to descend blanketing the grounds in a fine white powder.

In some places the drifts were so high that students were preventing from going there until it had been cleared.

Harry had just entered the Gryffindor common room after a particularly challenging Ancient Runes lesson with Hermione.

He sat down in his favourite armchair with Hermione sitting across from him and the two of them took out parchment, quills and text books and began to write out their homework assignment.

Professor Babbling had tasked them with writing two feet of parchment on the relation between the lightning rune and it's place in magical society.

Just as Harry had begun, the portrait hole opened and in stepped Ron and Neville.

They were both chatting animatedly about something though Harry couldn't hear from where he was sitting.

As they drew near he heard the conversation "should we really tell him?" Neville was saying "won't he think we're...you know...crazy?".

"Why should I think you're crazy?" Harry asked causing his two friends to jump in fright.

It was quite obvious that neither of them had noticed him sitting in the groups usual corner "ah...Harry...you're...you're here" said Ron.

"Well I'm not in the Great Hall Ron more's the pity" Harry quipped in amusement "but my question still stands, why would I think you're both crazy?".

Ron was about to speak when Neville got in first "it's just nonsense Harry, it doesn't mean anything, just ignore everything Ron says" he insisted.

Ron glared at Neville elbowing him in the ribs "shut up" Ron said.

He turned his attention back to Harry "something really weird happened in Divination class" he began.

Hermione scoffed "what, did someone choke on a tea leaf?".

Everyone present knew that Hermione had stormed out of the Divination classes at the start of November proclaiming them to be complete nonsense and nothing to do with magic.

Ron eyed her uncertainly while Harry stared at Hermione with his best "be quiet and listen" face.

"Sorry" Hermione said not sounding at all sorry and fell silent.

Ron continued "Me and Nev stopped to help Professor Trelawney clear up after class so we were the last to leave and as we were heading for the door, Trelawney who'd been saying goodbye...her...her voice changed..." Ron paused again as if feeling odd about what he was going to say "it wasn't her normal voice it was deeper and sinister, her eyes rolled back in her head and she began speaking, she said...she said beware the ferret, it bites, it will aim to do harm and when the moon is full and the wolf howls, the servant will set out to rejoin his master...and...and will become..." Ron gulped "greater and more terrible than ever before".

After Ron had finished he looked at Harry for his reaction.

Harry burst out laughing. He laughed and laughed until tears rolled down his cheeks and his sides hurt from the effort.

At length, he gathered himself together and replied "Ron, no offence mate but that is without a doubt the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard" he said, still smiling.

Ron still looked doubtful "but Harry she's a seer, she knows things, she can see the future".

"Poppycock" Hermione declared "she's a fraud and always will be a fraud, she's been going on about this sort of stuff for years according to Professor McGonagall".

"Hermione's right you guys" Harry said in agreement "Professor McGonagall said that she's only made one correct prediction in her whole life and not made another proper one since, it's obvious she's just got an obsession with talking about evil omens and death" Harry grinned "don't worry about it, it's all rubbish".

* * *

Two weeks before Christmas Harry and the other New Marauders were having tea with Hagrid as usual on the Saturday.

As they sat in his cabin talking about classes, homework and Quidditch, the subject flipped over to Buckbeak "Professor Dumbledore convinced the committee to move the hearing back to the twentieth of April so I've got more time to prepare" he told them with a smile.

"That's great Hagrid but you mean US" Harry responded happily and putting emphasise on the word us.

He was, as the others were, determined to help Hagrid build a strong case up.

Harry had decided that he would begin researching the subject during the Christmas Holidays when he would have more time to relax.

"I really appreciate the offer of help you lot" Hagrid told them as he took a sip of tea "Beaky's grateful as well" Hagrids face fell "I jus hope it'll be enough".

Hermione, Ginny and Luna went over and hugged Hagrid while the Draco voiced what they were feeling "it will be. It has to be".

Everyone else nodded at this and voiced their agreement.

It was already dark as they began their trek back up to the castle escorted by Hagrid with whom they were chatting happily.

The snow was coming down heavily and already had blanketed the grounds in blinding white as far as the eye could see.

Harry's thoughts turned to Christmas.

He was really looking forward to it this as his Mum had promised him that he could help cook Christmas dinner.

It was something he'd wanted to do for years but she'd always told him he wasn't responsible enough.

As he thought about it he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He froze in place staring.

He could see a pair of bright blue eyes in the darkness. Thinking quickly, he whipped his wand from it's holster, aimed it in the direction of the eyes and shouted "Lumos!".

His heart was hammering in panic.

He forced his breathing to calm.

Something about those blue eyes unnerved him immensely.

"Harry what is it?" came the voice of Hermione.

She and the others came to his side looking into the area illuminated by his wand "what are you staring at Harry?" Ron asked in confusion.

Harry swallowed and turned to answer over there "a pair of blue eyes I think it's a ferret".

"There's nothing there Harry" Neville said.

Harry turned back to the spot at which he'd been staring and noticed that, indeed, the creature was gone...if it had ever been there.

'Maybe I'm just imagining it' Harry thought to himself reasonably.

After all, why would a ferret be staring at him?.

As the group resumed the walk back to the castle he still could not shake off the ominous feeling that he had gotten from those eyes.

It had been like the creature was staring into his soul.

* * *

The Christmas Holidays finally arrived at last.

As Harry and the rest of the New Marauders found their usual compartment on the Hogwarts Express, conversation turned to Christmas and New Year and what everything was doing for it.

Neville revealed that he and his parents were off visiting his Grandmother and his Uncle Archie who had never married.

"I wish we were staying home for Christmas, I'd love to be there for Christmas Day" he lamented miserably.

"I'm sure you'll have a lovely time with your family Neville" Luna said trying to reassure him.

Neville snorted "yeah sure, a real cracking time" he replied sarcastically, "Gran comparing me to Dad as usual and Uncle Archie throwing spells at me to see how good my relaxes are.

"Well we're staying at home for Christmas. My Grandparents are coming to visit us so we're having Christmas dinner at home but I'll find some time to come over and chat" Hermione told the others.

"Well you may not have Hermione and Neville but you two still have me" Ron said grinning.

Harry smirked "oh yeah, thanks Ron, we're honoured".

"Oh it's noth...hey!" Ron said indignantly before laughing.

"Me and Draco are going to do some research for Hagrid over Christmas so we'll be busy anyway" Harry told them.

"Yeah we're going to enlist Molly's help" Draco added.

"Plus Mum and Aunt Janice say we've got to help Aunt Celia" Harry told them.

"Yeah with her being pregnant they said we've got to do more round the house".

"At least that's not a problem we've got, eh Ginny" Ron said chuckling.

They all laughed at this.

When the train pulled up to platform 9 and 3/4's the group grabbed their trunks and stepped off the train onto the platform.

They found it to be a lot less busy than usual.

Aurors still patrolled the platform, wands at the ready, vigilant for any possible threat.

It seemed to Harry that only one person from each family had been allowed onto the platform itself.

Harry glanced around and his eyes locked on his Godfather Sirius.

He managed to catch his Uncles eye and waved happily.

Grinning, his Uncle waved back to him "this way guys" Harry said as he pointed out Sirius.

It had been agreed that as Neville's Auror parents were busy, Ron and Ginny's Dad was busy and Harry's Dad was busy, they would all be picked up Sirius and Mrs Weasley.

They made their way over to the curly haired wizard and Harry halted his trolley "hey Padfoot" he said.

"Hey kid" Sirius responded as he ruffled Harry's hair.

"Hey Dad" Draco said smiling.

"Hey Son" Sirius said with a smile.

He then grabbed the two boys, protesting, into a hug worthy of Mrs Weasley "god I miss you guys every time you head to Hogwarts" he told them as he let them go "I miss planning pranks with you so much. Please tell me you played at least one this year" he said mock seriously.

Harry laughed "to tell you the truth Padfoot we've been a bit too busy".

"Too busy to play pranks!?" Sirius exclaimed in mock outrage.

They all laughed at this.

Eventually, Mrs Weasley arrived on the platform and greeted everyone with her usual bone crushing hugs.

After she greeted her children including Fred, George and Percy who had come up behind them, she turned her attention to Harry "I still say you don't eat enough Harry dear" she said in motherly concern.

Harry smiled "I eat plenty Mrs Weasley it just doesn't seem to go anywhere".

* * *

That afternoon as they arrived at the Manor and Harry with his Godfathers help put his trunk and Hedwigs cage in the hallway, a voice came from the nearby kitchen "Sirius is that you?".

Harry saw his Mum exit the kitchen.

The second she clapped eyes on him he could see tears brimming in her blue eyes.

Harry steeled himself for the most intense hug yet.

His Mother ran across the hallway and flung her arms around him kissing his forehead multiple times "oh my poor poor baby!" she exclaimed tearfully.

"Mum! get off!" Harry protested, trying to wriggle from her grasp.

Eventually his Mum let him do so "I'm just so relieved that you're home and not hurt" she said smiling.

Harry smiled "me too Mum, me too".

Before he could catch a breath a black haired blur had leapt at him and was hugging his waist tightly.

Harry felt the breath knocked from him slightly.

He looked down and laughed a little when he saw that it was his younger brother David "hey Davy, how's my favourite brother doing?" he asked smiling.

His brother looked up at him and he saw some tears in his brothers eyes.

It seemed that it wasn't only his Mother who'd been very upset about what had happened.

"Hey Davy don't cry" he said. He wiped the tears from his brothers eyes and said "hey mate, it's alright, I'm not going anywhere ok, I promise".

His brother still looked upset so Harry added "how about I convince your Dad to take us for a ride on his motorbike?".

At these words his brothers worried expression changed into a grin of happiness "yeah!" his brother exclaimed causing Harry to laugh.

"Right then, I'll speak to him and see what we can do eh? now, you go off and do...what were you doing?" Harry asked.

His brother smiled wider "building a lego mansion in my room".

Harry grinned "well you get back to doing that and when I've got everything unpacked and had a sit down I'll come and help ok?".

His brother nodded his head vigorously and ran off upstairs.

With the help of Draco, Harry managed to get his trunk into his bedroom.

As they were struggling along the first floor landing with Draco's, they heard an amused voice say "well if it isn't numbskull and numbskull".

Knowing to whom the voice belonged, they lowered the trunk to the carpeted floor of the landing and looked to the sound.

Sure enough, standing there, a smile as wide as Blackpool tunnel, was their sister Molly.

Even though they kept her updated with all the news of their adventures both good and bad and heard her news as well, it was no substitute for seeing her in person again after around three and a half months.

Within seconds, Harry and Draco had reached her and the three of them had grabbed each other in a three way hug.

* * *

True to their word, almost from the very moment that they arrived back at Marauder Manor, Harry and Draco took to the Manor's library.

It was a large spacious room with row upon row of bookshelves and full of comfy armchairs and sofas for long reading sessions.

There was even a wooden window seat, well padded for those who felt the urge to look out on the gardens of the Manor or the fields and hills in the shadow of which the Manor was nestled.

It was two days after they had returned and at this precise moment in time, Harry had his head buried in a book.

"Here's something" Harry said "in 1349 a Hippogriff was let off after savaging three people...oh no...it says here that that only happened because they were afraid of it".

Harry threw the book down in despair and ran his hand through his messy black hair, unconsciously rubbing his scar, while his other hand rubbed his tired eyes.

It was late, eleven pm to be exact and Harry was despairing of ever finding something to save Buckbeak.

He had hoped that their testimony alone could accomplish it but his hopes had been dashed after a conversation with his Dad who showed his the regulations on the control and disposal of dangerous creatures.

It showed plainly that testimony would not be enough and that a legal precedent had to be found if they were to have any chance.

"Found anything?" asked a voice from the doorway.

Harry looked over at the doors and found his sister Molly standing there looking concerned.

Harry shook his head miserably "nothing. It seems that every time this sort of thing has happened, the Hippogriff in question gets beheaded".

Harry's thoughts turned to Hagrid. He knew that if Buckbeak was killed, it would virtually destroy the big man.

After all, he may be tall and wide and look fearsome but he was the kindest, gentlest man there was.

He felt a surge of anger course through him at Nott. This was all that little gits fault.

Not content with jibes or attacks on Harry, he was now targeting Harry's friends.

Harry didn't know what his reaction would be Buckbeak were sentenced to die as a result of Nott's actions but he did know that it would not be good for the slimy Slytherin.

It wasn't only Nott and the issue with Buckbeak that had Harry feeling in a bad mood.

He remembered the incident with the Dementors. He shuddered involuntarily as he remembered the bony hands reaching out from the robes, the dark soulless eyes and the rattled breathing.

He felt very relieved that his Uncle Remus had consented to give him lessons to help combat the dark beings.

He was even more relieved that his Uncle had extended the offer to Harry's brother, girlfriend and friends.

He had warned them all however that the spell he was going to teach them would be very difficult.

When they had asked him what it was he had merely smiled and said cryptically "it's not written down in a book".

These words had left Harry and most of the others intrigued and desperate to find out while Hermione had been distraught to learn that it couldn't be found in a book.

He loved her like a sister and he knew books were important but Harry couldn't help feeling that Hermione relied on books too much and not enough on her own skill and instinct which were considerable. She wasn't called the brightest witch in their year for nothing.

* * *

It was late Christmas eve and Harry was sneaking along the first floor landing of the Manor to a certain bedroom.

He knocked as quietly as he could to catch Draco's attention.

The door creaked open and out stepped Draco, closing the door carefully.

In his hand was his wand and Harry noticed that Draco was dressed in all black clothing as he was himself.

"Ready?" Harry asked him.

Draco gave him the thumbs up "ready" he confirmed and the two brothers set off along the landing towards the stairs.

It was not easy getting downstairs without anyone noticing you, Harry reflected as his foot connected with the first stair which creaked loudly.

He froze for a moment but when he realised that no one had heard, he carried on downstairs.

Somehow, he and Draco managed to reach the entrance hall without waking anyone and soon found themselves opening the door of the drawing room.

"Lumos" Draco muttered and his wand produced a bright white light that illuminated the room in front of them.

Over in the corner, Harry could see the Christmas tree which was as tall as the ceiling and had been decorated this year as traditional by the children of the Manor including Harry himself.

Some people would have said he was too old to be decorating trees as they would doubtless say that he and Draco were too old for this particular escapade.

But as Harry would have told them if they'd said anything "we're only young once" and Harry and Draco both being thirteen now were trying to make the most of the childhood they had left.

They would after all be adults in just four years time.

They crept into the room quietly closing the large oak doors behind them.

As they inched towards the first sofa, Harry felt himself tread on something soft and a voice moaned "ooh, ow, bloody hell!" Harry froze and glanced over at Draco who seemed to be thinking exactly as he was.

They both looked down and saw..."Dad!" Harry shouted indignantly.

His Dad grinned before his face turned into a grimace "Padfoot, lights" his Dad said.

Soon the room was bathed in bright light.

Draco extinguished his wand as he asked Harry over the mental link "how do we play this?".

"Leave it to me" Harry replied back and they nodded to each other.

By now Harry's Dad had got to his feet and had been joined by Sirius, Remus and Peter would it seemed had all been lying in wait to catch them.

The four Marauders were looking at the two boys sternly but as Harry chanced a look at Sirius he found the corners of his Godfathers mouth twitching upwards and it was clear he was fighting a laugh.

After a moment of looking stern, Peter couldn't hold his laughter back and guffawed loudly for several moments.

"I thought I told you two last year that you had to stop sneaking looks at presents" his Dad said seriously.

"We weren't we were...uh..." Harry cast about for inspiration "uh...heading out for Quidditch" he lied.

His Dad rolled his eyes at this as did Remus "he hasn't got your talent for lying James" he remarked.

"I'm not lying it's..." his Dad held up a hand and replied "don't even try Harry. Tipper!" he called.

In a flash, the House Elves were there bowing before everyone "how can I help you today Masters?" Tipper asked squeakily.

Harry's Dad pointed to Harry and Draco "take these two boys back to their rooms Tipper and then come back here and guard the Christmas tree and presents until I say otherwise, they not to come back in here tonight".

Tipper bowed low again "it shall be done Master James" the old Elf said.

Harry groaned. Tipper was devoted to his Dad having been the Potter family elf when he was a boy.

He would not disobey his Fathers orders.

They were duly escorted back to their rooms after the adults had said goodnight.

* * *

Christmas Day finally arrived and Harry was as excited as anyone else to see what the day would bring.

It didn't matter how old he got he felt that he would never stop enjoying a family Christmas.

Early that morning, Harry, Draco, Molly and David all emerged from their rooms and converged on the first floor landing.

"It's Christmas!" they shouted happily to each other.

The four of them had got together a few days ago to plan a prank for Christmas day.

It involved custard and shaving foam being placed in their Fathers and Uncles socks and shoes respectively.

The four of them waited, giggling away happily as they eagerly awaited the results of their prank.

The effects were not long in coming "what in the name of bloody hell!" shouted the familiar voice of Harry's Dad.

He sniggered loudly and was joined by the other three.

Their laughter only intensified as another voice joined that of James Potter "I'll get whoever did this!".

From the bedrooms of their Parents and Uncles they heard loud bangs and more cursing.

The four of them were in paroxysms of laughter.

Harry himself was rolling around on the carpet, Draco was banging his fist on the floor and Molly and David were holding onto each other for support such was the hilarity of it all.

Loud footsteps could be heard from the stairs leading to the second floor and from their Parents bedrooms.

James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew and Sirius Black all converged on the first floor landing.

They were all red in the face and looked at each other in shock as each realised that the others were covered in water, feathers and custard "uh...Prongs..." Peter began uncertainly "you do know you're covered in custard and feathers...right?".

Harry's Dad replied "so are you Wormtail".

They glanced over at Harry and his siblings and their eyes narrowed "you know I have a shrewd idea of who's responsible" Remus remarked to them.

The four of them grinned at each other "charge!" Sirius shouted.

Harry's eyes widened "run!" he shouted.

The four of them scattered, laughing all the while.

David being the youngest was caught first before even finding a place to hide.

Molly was the next to be trapped as she was caught in two minds in the kitchen.

Harry and Draco who fled together were able to hide the longest, running down to the Quidditch shed and Summer House.

Unfortunately, they were suckered into a ploy by Sirius who managed to do excellent imitations of their Mothers voices.

When all four of them had been caught they were mercilessly tickled and then thrown in the shower and soaked with water before being covered in treacle.

It took until late morning for Harry and the others to get cleaned up.

Once they had, they headed for the drawing room where their Mothers and Aunts gave them hugs and kisses and wished them Merry Christmas.

Their Dad's and Uncles ruffled their hair, gave them hugs and also wished them Merry Christmas.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon was spent laughing and joking, opening cards and presents.

Harry was amazed to be given another Firebolt broom which had been jointly purchased by his Parents and Uncles and Aunts to replace the other one that had been wrecked by the Whomping Willow.

From the others he'd received a broom servicing kit, a signed moving photo of the Wimbourne Wasps, his favourite Quidditch team, from his brother he received a new t shirt with the lion of Gryffindor on it which he promptly pulled on, grinning happily.

He also received a new pair of trainers and various sweets and chocolates from his friends.

In the afternoon they headed to The Burrow and spent an enjoyable afternoon chatting with their friends, talking about the presents they'd received and playing games of hide and seek, wizards chess and Quidditch.

After a highly entertaining afternoon they all headed back to Marauder Manor accompanied by the entire Weasley family including Bill and Charlie who'd got time off work and Luna and her Parents.

That night they held an amazing Christmas party in the Manor's ballroom.

The tables groaned under the sheer weight of food.

There was roast chicken and roast turkey, roast pork, roast beef, mountains of new potatoes and roast potatoes, jellies and cakes of all flavours, carrots, swedes, mash, beans of every kind, pies and sea food.

There were massive gravy boats and bowls full of cream and custard and enormous pitchers of juice or water for the children and firewhiskey, beer and wine for the adults.

There was much dancing, playing games and singing of Christmas carols well into the night.

It was only after Molly and David both fell asleep during another chorus of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, that the party was ended and they said goodbye to all their guests.

As Harry fell onto his bed that night, too exhausted to get changed, he felt a sense of happiness and relaxation he'd not felt in a while.

He completely forgot about the blue eyed creature and the problems with Buckbeak.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello everyone, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it especially the part involving the prank.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my original characters of Lucy, David, Janice, Molly & Celia

* * *

Authors Note: This chapter starts in January. Enjoy everyone.

* * *

Chapter Twenty One: Birthday, Love and Sightings

Christmas had come and gone. New Years Eve had also come and gone.

It would soon be time for Harry and the rest of the New Marauders to be returning to Hogwarts for the school year.

But before they did there was a certain little boy who's birthday was due to take place on January the third a day before Harry left.

It was as a result of this that Harry, Draco and Molly had been roped in (with their full consent) to help prepare everything for their younger brother.

As Harry worked on blowing up balloons he lamented the fact that there were so few children of Davids own age that the boy could call friends.

Of course, there was Harry, Draco, Molly and their friends but in the first place they were all older than David by several years and in the second place all of them with the exception of Molly were at Hogwarts for a large part of the year and Molly herself would be heading to Hogwarts next year having been granted special dispensation for starting school earlier.

"Hey Harry, help me with this banner" his brother called out.

Harry tied off the balloon and pushed it aside as he headed over to the back wall of the ballroom where Draco was hanging a long, orange and red coloured banner that read "Happy Sixth Birthday David" on it.

Harry climbed the other ladder next to Draco and the two of them hoisted the banner aloft.

Unfortunately, timing has a way of causing problems so often and just such a thing happened here.

Harry became distracted by a sound coming from the two way mirror in his jeans pocket.

He reached into the pocket and pulled it out "oh hey babe" he said to Ginny when he saw her beaming face.

"We're coming over in a minute to help, can't wait to see you love" she told him.

"Sounds great, love you Gin Gin, see you in a minute" they blew a kiss to each other and the mirror went blank.

A noise of someone clearing their throat forced it's way into Harry's ears.

He looked all around but couldn't see anything.

He did however notice an empty ladder and with a glance at the ground saw a very irritated Draco, looking dishevelled, lying on the floor, the banner draped over him like a sash "if you're quite done conducting your love life when we're decorating" he spat out irritably.

Harry grinned "what's the matter Draco? jealous because Luna hasn't noticed you?".

Draco's face and ears turned bright red and Harry grinned even more as realised that his hunch all this time had been correct.

He knew of course that his brother had at one time had a thing for Ginny, probably even wanting to date her but not it seemed he had moved on to their blonde haired friend "oh! so I was right! you do fancy Luna!" he said gleefully.

His brother seized a nearby spoon and threw it at him "oh shut up" he snapped.

Harry stopped teasing his brother, got down from the ladder and walked over to help him up.

Once they were seated on a plush sofa Harry turned to his brother who seemed to be deep in thought "you should just tell her how you feel" he told Draco plainly.

His brother glared at him "like it's that easy" he said in annoyance.

Harry smiled "well it was for me. I told Ginny I had feelings for her and I was lucky, she had feelings too and now look at us".

Draco stood up looking angry "oh yes Mr Perfect Potter!" he threw his arms up "everything's so easy for you isn't it! you do something that would get most people expelled and you end up on the Quidditch team while me?" he pointed to himself "I end up in the bloody reserves with no hope in hell of getting on the team until Wood leaves!".

Harry stood up, his blood boiling in anger. Before he could speak, his brother continued his rant "all you have to do is snap your fingers!" Draco snapped his fingers to demonstrate "and the girls come running. I've never had it so easy, I've had work for what I have!, my Mother killed herself while I was in the next room!".

Harry could see that Draco was crying now but instead of comforting his sibling as he usually did, his own feelings were so confused that he said "you think I've had it easy do you?".

Harry got right up in his brothers face, so closed they were within spitting distance "I nearly died in that chamber back in May or did you forget that incident? oh of course, you weren't there were you? Ron was though" he added maliciously "and in only my First bloody Year I had to kill Quirrell and save the stone!".

His brother sneered "you didn't have to Harry! that's just your typical bloody hero complex coming out as usual!".

Harry was feeling enraged now "and what about when I almost died at the age of eight? huh? was that a "hero complex"?".

"I saved you!" Draco shouted.

Harry snorted "yeah so you could get the glory for doing it".

His brother looked ready to hit him but didn't seem to have a response.

Harry continued "I was one and a half when I lost my Mother. I nearly lost my Dad too and when I'm older I have to kill my Mum's murderer because of some stupid Prophecy!".

"Hero Complex" Draco said snidely.

That did it at last.

Harry leapt at Draco, tackling him to the floor.

The two of them wrestled for several minutes as Harry got the upper hand and began trying to punch his brother only for Draco to turn the tables on him.

After what seemed like an eternity a voice that was usually calm shouted "what are you two doing!?".

Harry felt strong hands haul him away from Draco and saw his Uncle Peter pulling Draco away.

He tried to wrestle himself from the persons grip only for them to say "calm down!".

He was dragged, resisting fiercely, from the ballroom and hauled upstairs to his bedroom.

One glance back at his brother told him that Peter was doing the same thing to Draco.

Harry glanced up and saw a tuft of light brown hair with flecks of grey and a pair of green eyes.

He knew it was his Uncle Remus.

As angry as he was he knew how strong his Uncle was and that struggling would be pointless.

His Uncle thew him bodily onto the bed.

He glared at Remus angrily "why'd you stop me!?" he demanded furiously.

Remus stares at him his face calm "because you were attacking your brother Harry".

"The way he just spoke to me made it very clear he doesn't want to be my brother" Harry said scornfully.

His Uncle whipped out his wand.

For one fearful moment Harry thought he would curse him but Remus merely waved the wand, causing a comfortable chair to cross the room.

Remus promptly sat down still staring impassively at Harry "I'm sure Draco was just upset Harry. I doubt he meant any of what he said" his Uncle said reasonably.

Harry glared at him even more "what like when he said how easy it is for me!" he replied hotly "when he claimed I didn't deserve my place on the Quidditch team, or that all I have to do is snap my fingers and girls come running?".

Harry stood up and began pacing "he thinks I've had it so bloody easy!" he shouted "but he's not the one who faints like a girl around Dementors!. He's not the one who had to kill people because they want me dead!. He's not the one who saw his Mother die in front of him!".

Harry's tough exterior was cracking.

He could feel it as he continued to give vent to his feelings.

"He's not the bloody one who has a price on his head!. This fucking prophecy!" Harry swore.

He sank down on to his bed and began to sob "he's not the one who has to face up to a monster someday and kill him or be killed!. He has no idea the pressure! what it's like to have to avenge my Mothers killer when his Mother had the choice!".

Harry picked up a glass on his bedside cabinet and hurled it as hard as he could against the far wall "he's got no one to blame for his Mothers death! no need to seek revenge. Every day I feel the loss! every damn day I have to go around putting up with this celebrity!".

Harry stared at his Uncle through watery eyes "does he really think it's fun for me to have people calling me the Boy Who Lived or The Chosen One? I hate it!. I just want to be a normal teenage boy!".

Harry couldn't say any more. He was so choked up with sobs that he felt as if his body would crack under it's weight.

For nearly thirteen years he had kept these feelings bottled up inside.

He had been through in thirteen years, more than most other people wouldn't experience in a life time or even two life times.

He felt so broken up right now.

On the one hand he loved Draco as a brother and wanted to go to him, to apologise for his words and actions but on the other hand he couldn't easily forget or forgive Draco's words.

He had no idea what to do "help me Moony" he sobbed.

Through his blurry eyes he saw his Uncle move from his chair and sit next to him on the bed.

He was drawn into a tight hug and continued sobbing into his Uncles jumper "please help me. I don't know what to do!".

* * *

Draco felt so angry at this moment in time.

All he wanted to do was swear. To kick furniture and to rage against anything and everything.

How dare Harry give him advice?.

It was always so easy for his "perfect" brother.

He got girls without even having to try.

He got put on the Quidditch team at school when he'd deserved to be punished and he dared talk about what **he'd **been through?.

As if Draco hadn't been through the same thing.

Every bad feeling Harry had Draco felt it.

Every negative or upsetting thought he had, Draco heard it.

Ok sure, Harry had lost his Mother when he was one and a half and that was awful but Draco had lost his Mum too.

He had only been in the next room when it happened he'd been told later.

She'd killed herself so as not to be used against her only Son.

And then there was this Prophecy business.

Harry claimed he had no idea what it was like because he didn't have one hanging over his head.

Claimed that his Mother didn't need avenging.

But the news flash was that this made it worse not better.

He had no one to properly vent his anger at over her death.

He couldn't exactly rage against dead woman could he?.

That wouldn't be right. He couldn't rage against Voldemort or his birth Father Lucius Malfoy for neither had killed her.

So where the hell was he supposed to take this built up emotion?.

Who could he vent against?.

Who could he blame?.

"What the hell was that fight all about Draco?" his Uncle Peter asked, cutting through his thoughts.

Draco glared at him "we were speaking some truths at last is all. He said how he felt and so did I. Mr Perfect Potter, no has any problems, never has to worry about girls or his emotions".

"Now you know that's just not true Draco. Harry had just as many problems as you, if not more" his Uncle said.

Draco scoffed "oh yes I know. The Prophecy. But lets be honest other than so hypothetical time in the future where he may he face Voldemort and I stress the word may, what else do he have to worry about? really? he got on the Quidditch team when he should have been punished and he gets a girl just be clicking his fingers! I've never been that lucky".

The next response from his Uncle stops his rage dead "and I suppose he was lucky to have his Mum killed in front of him was he? and to have the most evil wizard in our history try to kill him?".

His Uncle was glaring now "I can't believe after everything the two of you have been through together that you are behaving this way!. You're brothers for god sake! try acting like it!".

Draco glared "we're not brothers not really! only thanks to some stupid blood ritual!".

"Oh Draco open your eyes!" his Uncle snapped "being a brother is about more than just blood".

His Uncle walked closer "it's about being there for someone through everything. It's about sharing the good times and the bad. It's about laughing with your brother when somethings funny. Comforting them when they're sad. Fighting with them when they're in danger. That's what being a brother is!" Peter said "I'm not related by blood to your Dad or to James or Remus and yet I view all of them as my brothers. They protected me. They shared my adversity and my triumphs. James even invited me to live here!".

Peter gestured around "he wouldn't take no for an answer and you know why?. It's because we're brothers and we always bloody will be! so grow up Draco and go and talk to your brother because I'm sure that right now he's just as upset and angry as you are".

His Uncle stormed out of the room leaving him to ponder on what had been said.

* * *

Harry had sat brooding in his room for several hours after the incident with Draco. His feelings flitted between anger, sadness and regret.

As the sun began to set that night he made a decision.

He got up from his bed and headed for the door.

He was just heading to his brothers bedroom planning to make the first move of reconciliation when said brother came out of his own room a few doors down.

The two brothers stared at each other impassively for a moment each waiting for the other to make a move.

It became clear to Harry that if neither of them made a move then their enmity would never be sorted.

He started to move forwards and it seemed that his brother through their mental link had heard the idea and decided to match it.

They met outside Harry's Dad's bedroom.

For a while they didn't talk.

The silence was heavy as it was a funeral.

And then at the same time they opened their mouths "I'm sorry!" they both said.

They looked intently at each other "I was wrong" Harry said.

"So was I" Draco admitted.

"I didn't know you truly felt like that" Harry confessed.

Draco shrugged "a lot of it was the heat of the moment" he replied.

Harry sighed "I'm sorry for what I said about you saving me. I know you weren't looking for glory".

His brother snorted "no more than you are with this prophecy hanging over your head" Draco sighed "god what an awful thing to say".

Harry moved so that he was standing right next to his brother "look Draco, we both said things we didn't mean, it's been stressful, this business with Buckbeak and Mundungus Fletcher on the loose, I think we both needed to vent".

"You were only trying to give me advice Harry. I appreciate that now and I shouldn't have bit your head off like that".

"No you shouldn't" acknowledged Harry "but neither was it my place to give you advice. I should have left it to Dad or someone else".

"It was good advice" Draco confessed.

"Brothers?" Harry asked the question hoping it was still true.

His brother laughed "one fight isn't going to change it. Brothers together..." Draco put his fist out.

Harry met it with his own as they touched knuckles "Brothers forever" Draco finished.

The two of them drew each other into a powerful hug and stayed that way for some time.

* * *

The next day, their second to last before returning to school, was the day of their brother Davids Sixth birthday party.

Harry couldn't believe how quickly the little guy was growing up.

He was so smart already.

He'd been able to read and do maths problems from the age of four and at the same time had shown a great aptitude for writing.

Harry wasn't sure why but he had the hunch that his brother would be a powerful wizard when he grew up.

As they put the finish touches on the ballroom, his thoughts turned to the day when he found his brother drawing a picture, a picture of a bald wizard with flat nostrils and glowing red eyes.

Lord Voldemort.

Harry shivered at the memory.

Despite shrugging it off he'd seen since, more pictures his brother had drawn of past events or events that had come true including of a short, fat man with no hair.

The traitor Mundungus Fletcher.

His thoughts returned to the present as his Godfather appeared and helped him with the banner.

Once they were done, everyone of the guests got into position and David was led in.

Harry watched on happily as his brother smiled widely and clapped his hands in delight at the decorations (the theme was trains) and at the vast array of foods and presents and all of the guests.

The party that followed lasted until nine pm and involved Harry and his other siblings and friends being roped into games of pass the parcel, hide and seek, duck duck goose and more.

Harry watched on as his brother tore into the present Harry had got him. It was a book on the Greatest Quidditch Players.

His brothers face had lit up and he'd hugged him and shouted "thank you! thank you! thank you!".

That night as the party was winding down David fell asleep where he was sat cross legged on the floor.

"I'll get him up to bed and settled" his Aunt Janice said and made a move to get up.

Harry knelt down "no it's alright Aunt Jan, I'll take him up" he said helpfully.

His Aunt beamed at him, ruffled his hair and said "you really are a good lad Harry".

Harry smiled and moved to carefully pick up his little brother.

As he carried David out of the ballroom, across the entrance hall and up the stairs, Harry lamented just how heavy his brother had gotten while he'd been away at school.

That was the one thing Harry did not like about being away so often. Missing his siblings grow up.

By the time he reached his younger brothers bedroom on the second floor he was exhausted.

Thankfully Draco and Molly were there to help.

Molly opened the door for him and Draco helped him carry David to the bed.

They got him changed into his pyjamas and under the duvet.

Harry gave him a kiss on the forehead as did his brother and sister and they then slipped quietly out of the room, though not before Harry murmured "sleep tight Davy. We love you".

* * *

The train ride back to Hogwarts was as lively as ever but Harry noticed that one person was not joining in the merriment or the discussions.

Draco.

His brother, seated near the window of their compartment, merely stared out at the snow covered grass and the darkening sky as the train chugged it's way northwards.

He knew his brother was deep in thought through their mental link.

In this way the link could be both a blessing and a curse as neither brother could truly hide their thoughts or feelings from the other.

Harry decided he needed to say something though he no wish to provoke an argument such as the one they had at the Manor.

Through their link he asked "Draco why do you have a face like a slapped arse?".

His brother clearly hearing this glared at him for a moment before turning back to the window and replying over their link "I'm thinking about what to say to Luna".

"At last" Harry said mentally "I was beginning to think you'd never tell her".

"I may not yet" Draco told him "I have no idea what words to use. I've never felt like this before".

Harry smiled "neither had I before Ginny and me got together. Just be honest with her about how you feel and see if she feels the same".

Their mental link was so silent for a time that he feared his brother would shout at him again.

Eventually the response came through "thanks Harry. I'll do that".

* * *

The first part of January went quietly enough with classes and Quidditch practice.

The New Marauders had planned a prank to be played on Ron's brothers and Lee Jordan in retaliation for a prank played on them at the start of the month.

The plan involved a new sweet they had designed that when chewed would cause the person in question to transform into a clown complete with face paint, silly shoes and riding a unicycle while being forced to juggle.

The problem they had run into when designing the prank was how to convince two arch pranksters the level of the Weasley Twins and their accomplice to eat said sweets.

In the end they settled on making their sweets look and taste exactly like a bag of fudge that the Weasleys had been given as a gift for Christmas.

In order to carry out the plan two of the New Marauders had taken up places in the Gryffindor common room.

Draco and Neville were to keep the Twins and their friend engaged in conversation and through a game of chess thereby giving the much more nimble Harry, time to sneak into the Year Five dorm and swap out three regular pieces of fudge of which thankfully only three were left and swap them with the creation from the New Marauders.

As Harry was swapping out the fudge cubes he heard someone clear their throat and thought for sure that he'd been caught.

He looked over his shoulder and saw the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain Oliver Wood grinning at him "I figured you were up to something when I saw you bypass your dorm" Wood told him.

Harry went to say something "Oliver this isn't...".

Wood however was grinning "don't worry Harry. Your secrets safe with me. Whatever prank you're planning I won't say a word".

Wood winked and disappeared again.

Harry stared after him for a moment before returning to his task which he managed to carry out successfully.

Smiling to himself he exited the dorm and headed back down to the common room.

On the way he met Ginny who was heading up to the common room from her own dorm "hey love" she said giving him a peck on the cheek.

Harry smiled and pecked her on the cheek in return "hey love".

They clasped hands and entered the common room "what were you doing in Fred and George's dorm room?" she asked him shrewdly.

Harry grinned "a prank" he whispered.

She smiled "I can't wait to see it in action".

They headed over to where the others were sitting, engrossed in a game of Wizards Chess between Draco and George.

Draco seemed to be winning handily judging by the frustrated look on George's face and the amused expressions on everyone else's.

As they reached them, Harry threw the thumbs up to the other New Marauders who gave a brief nod of acknowledgement of a mission well done.

* * *

That night at dinner Harry and his friends kept casting surreptitious glances at Fred, George and Lee as they waited to see if the three of them would eat the fudge and if so, whether the fudge would work.

Harry was halfway through a second helping of his favourite dessert, sticky toffee cheesecake, when there was a loud bang.

Harry jumped and sent his plate flying.

He looked around wildly for the source of the sound and found much to his amusement and satisfaction that two clowns wearing long floppy shoes, ridiculous face paint, red noses and green hair, were balancing precariously on top of unicycles and being forced to juggle.

He began to laugh. Slowly at first but then more forcefully. It began a giggle, then a chuckle and finally a deep belly laugh.

He was joined by his friends and the other Gryffindors and many students from other tables.

He noticed the Twins' friend Lee was laughing as well after recovering from his initial bemusement at the situation.

Harry was a bit disappointed that Lee had not fallen into the trap but it was still hilarious.

As per the spell, the Twins cycled multiple times around the various tables including near the staff table where Harry noticed that most of the Professors were helpless with laughter.

His Uncle Remus and virtual Uncle Severus were doubled over laughing like hyenas, Hagrid was guffawing loudly and pointing, most of the other Professors were smiling widely in amusement while the corners of Professor Dumbledore's mouth had twitched up and there was a familiar twinkling in his blue eyes.

After ten minutes, the spell wore off leaving two very confused redheads to stare about them clearly wondering what had just happened.

Almost the whole hall had risen in applause for the prank which Harry and his friends had acknowledged with bows, grins and waves.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast, the joy that had come from a prank well done, was broken as suddenly as it had appeared.

Harry had just tucked into bacon and eggs when a great rustling could be heard from the rafters of the Great Hall and hundreds of owls descended to the House and Staff tables to deliver various post from parcels to letters and in a few cases, howlers!.

Harry's own owl Hedwig landed gracefully on the table in front of him. Clutched in her beak was a copy of that day's Daily Prophet.

Harry didn't read much of the paper but he had been subscribing to it ever since he'd been told of the escape of Mundungus Fletcher.

He took the paper from Hedwigs mouth setting it down next to him in a space he'd cleared of plates and cutlery.

"Here girl" he said and handed her a goblet of water.

She took a sip of it and nibbled some bacon that he offered her.

He gave her a brief stroke of her snow white feathers, she nipped his finger affectionately and took off, no doubt heading for the owlery where she spent most of her time or perhaps to hunt.

Harry took a sip of water as he looked at the article on the front page.

His water slid down the wrong way in shock and horror at the headline which glared out at him "Fletcher sighted in Hogsmeade".

He began to choke and splutter and had to be banged roughly on the back by Ron who was seated next to him.

"What's got you so upset Harry?" Hermione questioned.

She looked over at the headline and turned pale "oh Harry" was all she could say as looked at him pitiably.

Ron and the others also took a look.

Ron swore loudly "bloody hell Harry!".

Harry nodded, no longer feeling hungry.

The man who had betrayed his Parents and himself was far too close by for comfort and there was only one reason he would be so near to the school at which Harry resided.

The thought that sprang to his mind was not at all a cheerful one.

* * *

One bright spot was Harry's Patronus lessons.

He had begun learning the charm with Remus and his friends and brother on the first Saturday after term had resumed.

At this precise moment he was feeling quite frustrated. He'd shouted the incantation as instructed and yet, just as at the first session a week ago, had only produced wisps of smoke that Remus had informed him was called a "non corporeal patronus".

He slammed his wand on the desk "damn it!" he said angrily "why can't I do it?".

The others stopped trying and stared at him while his Uncle came to his side "don't be so hard on yourself Harry. This charm is miles beyond even Seventh Year students. In fact..." Remus looked around to make sure no one else but those present, was listening "the charm is only know by members of the Order Of The Phoenix" he told them all.

"Really?" Neville asked in amazement.

Remus smiled and nodded "that's right" he turned back to face Harry "so don't be so upset at not getting it straight away. It takes a lot of time and effort to produce one".

* * *

It was the third week of January. God how time seemed to fly, Draco thought as he sat at a table in the Library reading through a book on numbers and magic for his Arithmancy class.

"Hey you" came a familiar soft voice.

He turned at the sound and smiled as he saw Luna approach his table.

As she smiled back he felt an odd sensation in his stomach.

It felt like his stomach had dropped to his feet and his heart was trying to jump from his chest.

He had described the feeling to Harry, the only person he felt he could open up to about such things and Harry had been of the opinion that at the very least he had some feelings for Luna beyond just being friends.

As she sat down in the seat next to him he shivered and felt that his brother was absolutely right.

"What are you working on?" she asked him, looking over at his book.

Draco grimaced "it's just a book on Arithmancy".

"Oh" she said.

He stared into her pale silvery eyes and knew that it was now or never.

He had to tell her what he was feeling or he'd never have the courage and then she'd meet someone else and...oh god...just do it!.

"Luna I think I love you!" he blurted out.

He then kicked himself, feeling instantly embarrassed at saying it in such a way.

His blonde haired friend was silent for a long while.

So long in fact that Draco stood up and went to walk away feeling totally humiliated and certain that she did not return his feelings.

As he turned away from her and began to walk, a soft hand grabbed his own and another one turned him around.

He was face to face with Luna now.

There was wide smile on her face "do you really?...love me that is" she said.

Draco nodded, his throat feeling very dry, his heart beating fast.

Luna planted a big kiss on his cheek and pulled him into a warm hug "oh god I can't believe you love me" she said.

"I love you too" she told him and his heart leapt "I've been wondering how to tell you since the summer but I couldn't pluck up the courage".

Draco laughed loudly earning him an angry glare from the hawkish Librarian Madam Pince.

Luna looked confused as to why he was laughing.

He clued her in on the joke "I've been wondering how to tell you as well" he told her "I've been terrified of telling you in case you rejected me!".

"I'd never do that" she murmured "never, never, never".

Draco heard a jubilant voice in his head.

It was his brother and he simply said "it's about bloody time". Draco grinned widely.

When they entered the Gryffindor common room, their hands intertwined Harry and the others cheered and clapped.

Some whistled and all of them came over to Draco and Luna to congratulate them.

Draco was feeling so overwhelmed with happiness at it all.

* * *

Authors Note:

Hi everyone. Hope you all enjoyed reading that chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I think it had the right mix of drama and fun but I'd appreciate reviews if you can so I know what worked and what didn't.

Did you have a favourite part? I'd love to hear.

Regardless, that's all from this chapter.

The next one will start in February and will deal with more Quidditch, Valentines Day and a retaliatory prank from the Weasley Twins.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: All characters belong to JK Rowling except for the original characters of David, Molly, Lucy, Janice, Celia and any others I may create.

* * *

Authors Note:

Hi all. Hope you enjoyed the last chapter.

I know it was a bit shorter than the last few but I didn't want to make it longer than it needed to be.

A shout out to fhl1234 who has been so far the most consistent reviewer of this story. Thanks to him for the name ideas for Celia's baby/babies.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Two: Quidditch, Valentines Day, More Pranks & Patronus

It was now mid February and at this precise moment in time, Harry was bent over a table in the corner of the Gryffindor common room scribbling away at a piece of History of Magic homework.

As he sat there writing away he thought about the fact that History of Magic was the most boring subject taught at the school.

The main reason for this was that it was the only class to taught by a ghost, Professor Binns.

The shame about it all, Harry thought, was that it may have been an exciting subject to learn if not for Binns's endless droning on about Goblin Rebellions.

It was literally all the teacher talked about and the only thing he ever set as homework.

That coupled with the fact that Binns could never ever get their names right made it the only subject he actually hated being in.

Harry sighed and put down his quill.

He had the distinct feeling that if he had to read and write about any more Goblin Rebellions, he crack.

It was at this moment that Hermione snapped out angrily "no Ron do your own work!".

Harry wearily glanced over at his best friend.

He been noticing that since September his friend had been getting steadily more irritable and seemed to have no time for fun.

"Uh Hermione" he said tentatively.

"What!?" she snapped at him.

Harry gulped "I was just going to say that you've spilt ink on your History of Magic essay".

Hermione glanced down at her parchment on which, indeed, a large black blob had formed from ink pot she had knocked over.

Even from where he sat Harry could tell that the writing was becoming illegible.

"Oh no blast!" Hermione shrieked trying desperately to dry off the parchment to no avail.

The stain had spread across the whole upper portion of it obscuring the words.

"Now I'll have to do it all again!" his friend moaned miserably banging her head on the table.

"You could just use mine for a rough idea" Harry suggested knowing that the second the words were out of his mouth, that this was a bad thing to say.

Hermione glared daggers at him and looked like she might actually curse him "I'm not a cheat Harry!" she spat "I'll get my homework done correctly unlike some" she said glancing over at Ron.

His best friend looked offended at this "hey I'll have you know...".

Harry knew someone needed to jump in and quick.

Thankfully that someone was not him but Draco "guys keep it civil. I'm sure Hermione didn't mean it" he said to Ron and then to Hermione added "Hermione I'm sure Harry didn't mean to imply anything" Harry's brother glanced at him "right Harry?".

Harry took the hint, looked at Hermione and nodded "that's right Hermione. I'm sorry if I offended you".

Hermione's face softened and she accepted the apology "no need to apologise Harry. I'm sorry I've just been really stressed".

Harry waved it off "it's alright, no harm done".

She turned to Ron "I'm sorry Ron. That was unfair of me".

To Harry's relief his friend shrugged "no worries".

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that they had for once, avoided another argument.

As Harry tried to return his attention to his essay he felt his mind wander to an incident the previous week.

* * *

[Flashback]

Harry had just come back from a draining training session at the Quidditch stadium.

He was feeling tired in both mind and body and simply wanted to rest and relax.

Unfortunately for him as he sat down planning on having a snooze, two figures plopped themselves down on the sofa next to him.

Harry opened one eye lazily and found Ron staring at him. He jumped.

"Ron!" he said irritably picking himself up from the floor "don't do that!" he scolded.

"Sorry Harry" Ron said apologetically.

As Harry sat back down he noticed the worried looks he was getting from his best friends and sighed "what is it now? more evil omens?" he said mockingly.

He thought Ron would be the one to speak which, given his fanciful ideas, would have led Harry to immediately dismiss what had been said.

But instead of Ron it was Neville who said "Harry, something very odd happened in Divination today".

Harry shook his head wearily.

Ever since the start of the year his two best friends had been hearing and seeing signs of some sort of impending doom, only they couldn't say what it precisely was.

"Guys I'm really not in the mood for more jokes" he said tiredly.

He closed his eyes ready to block out their words.

Something jabbed him hard in the ribs "ow!" he opened his eyes feeling very annoyed now "ok which one of you jokers did that?" he demanded.

"It doesn't matter which of us did it Harry" Ron said.

"What matters is that you need to listen to us" said Neville.

Harry sighed "alright fine. What is this important news?" he asked.

"It's more something we have to show you" said Ron.

"It's a tea mug that we took from Professor Trelawney's classroom" Neville told Harry "and there's a very weird form inside it".

Harry snorted in derision "what is it, an image of Voldemort?" he asked sarcastically.

"Stop joking!" Ron snapped.

Harry gaped at him in surprise.

Ron and Neville never usually took jokes on fellow New Marauders to this extent "alright. I'm sorry" Harry said genuinely.

Ron and Neville nodded their apologies and Ron turned to Neville "get the cup out Nev and be careful" he said.

Neville nodded and began to fumble about in his school bag for it.

After a short moment he plucked out a very plain blue tea mug.

Harry didn't see what was so special about it "look inside" Ron instructed.

Feeling like he would throttle his two friends he took the proffered mug by the handle and did indeed glance down at the bottom of it.

All he could see was a bunch of tea leaves left over from presumably a Tasseography session "I can't see anything" he mumbled.

"Look closer" Neville urged.

Harry did as bid staring harder at the leaves until he saw that there was indeed a shape that had formed.

It appeared to be the shape of a ferret.

Harry frowned.

He didn't see what was so funny about arranging something into this shape.

He looked up to see two expectant faces.

"Who's idea of a joke was this?" he asked calmly though inside he was feeling thoroughly cheesed off.

Ron and Neville exchanged worried looks and Ron spoke, his tone nervous "it's no joke Harry. That's my tea mug from Divination and the leaves rearranged into that shape before my very eyes".

Harry put on his best "I don't believe you" face.

"It's true Harry" Neville jumped in "I was partnering Ron and I saw it happen. Honest. We're not having you on" he said so earnestly that Harry began to consider they must be telling the truth.

"But if it did it by itself...why?" he said voicing the first thing that sprang to mind.

Ron and Neville looked even more nervous and Harry guessed right away "you two surely don't think it's an omen of some kind" he said incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

They both nodded "I know how mad it sounds Harry but I'm sure..." Ron started.

"We're sure" Neville said firmly "that it's a bad omen. We knew we had to tell you because you need to be safe".

Harry despite his disbelief, was touched at their concern "I will be more careful guys. I promise" Harry said.

That seemed to satisfy them and they switched to talking about the upcoming Quidditch game in February in which Gryffindor would play Slytherin.

Both teams had won their first game with Gryffindor beating Hufflepuff and Slytherin beating Ravenclaw which thus brought even more meaning to the match.

[End of Flashback]

* * *

"Who wants to get a snack?" Draco asked.

That broke Harry out of his thoughts as his stomach rumbled.

The group headed for the kitchens where they spent an enjoyable few hours eating, drinking and chatting with the House Elves.

* * *

That Saturday, the third Saturday of the month, dawned cold and wet though thankfully it was not raining.

Harry had started the day with his usual jog around the grounds alongside Ginny. In order to keep each other safe from both Mundungus Fletcher and from the Dementors they were joined by Ron, Draco, Neville, Hermione and Luna.

None of the others save Draco showed any great enjoyment from the activity which made Harry all the more appreciative of them being there.

He may not believe in omens after all but he did believe that danger could from anywhere. Hardly a surprising belief either when considering the events of the past two school years.

As Harry sat in the Great Hall eating his breakfast he had made a resolution to himself to not even bother wishing that the rest of the school year would go off without incident as he knew it to be wholly impossible.

In no time at all it seemed, he found himself in the changing rooms getting changed into his Quidditch gear ready for yet another match.

He happily patted his new broom which had been given as a present for Christmas as a result of what had happened to the last one.

As Harry walked out onto the pitch with the rest of the team he felt immense relief at the fact that there were multiple Aurors flying around and in the stands all keeping watch for the Dementors.

He knew too that Headmaster Dumbledore had had a blistering argument, rather uncharacteristic for one so calm, with Minister Bones over the issue of the dark creatures still being at Hogwarts.

From what Harry had heard Dumbledore was threatening to sue the Ministry if just one more student was hurt by them.

As Harry rose high into the air he enjoyed hearing the roar of the crowd.

As he zoomed higher into the air in search of the elusive golden snitch he found the sensation of the cool air running through his hair to be very pleasant.

As it happened it took almost no time at all before he saw the tiny ball and despite the vain boasting of Theodore Nott his nemesis Harry managed to outmanoeuvre the snobbish Slytherin before he'd even seen the snitch.

In just five minutes the match itself was over and Harry was being cheered by the Gryffindor's who cheered loudest and by the Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's who were always gratified to see Slytherin losing.

What really made Harry's day though, even above catching the snitch so quickly, was the look of anger and despondency on Nott's face as he stormed off past Harry into the changing rooms.

The part that followed their second successive Quidditch victory was raucous and fun and last until the early hours of the morning when an irate Professor McGonagall marched into the common room, turned off the music and demanded that they all go to bed.

As Harry turned in for the night he felt it had been a rather enjoyable day.

* * *

The next day which was a Sunday, found Harry and his friends in their Patronus lesson with Harry's Uncle Remus.

Harry was getting better at producing something when he used the incantation but so far had only been able to produce a non corporeal one much to his disappointment.

He knew that Remus had said it was advanced magic and that he was doing very well for a Third Year but these words couldn't give him comfort.

Not when he knew that he would need such a spell in his arsenal if he was to hold off even just one Dementor.

"Expecto Patronum!" Harry shouted for the third time that lesson.

He felt very tired.

Despite his best efforts he still seemed unable to produce a proper Patronus "damn it!" he said in frustration.

A frustration not helped when he saw Draco manage to produce a Patronus in the shape of an owl.

"You have to give it time Harry" his Uncle told him handing him a square of chocolate.

Harry ate it and then said "but Moony I need a Patronus or else how am I to fight Dementors".

"Well I hope you'll never need to Harry but I'm sure it's not going to be long before you manage it" his Uncle replied encouragingly.

After relax for a few minutes Harry gathered up the happiest memory he could conjure and tried again several more times.

The final time, feeling very fed up with it all he bellowed "Expecto Patronum!".

To his great astonishment and, judging by the faces of those around him, everyone else present, a large stag made of wispy blue smoke burst from the tip of his wand, cantered around the room and disappeared through the wall.

"Prongs" he heard his Uncle whisper.

He turned to his Uncle and saw that the man was smiling widely "I can't wait to tell James".

"Tell Dad what?" Harry asked walking over to him.

His Uncle grasped his shoulders "that's exactly the same Patronus as your Dad has Harry" his Uncle told him.

Harry was stunned.

He had no idea and wondered how this was possible "multiple people can have the same Patronus Harry" his Uncle said guessing his thoughts.

Harry smiled widely.

Finally he could produce a proper Patronus "great work Harry!" Draco said slapping him on the back.

Ron, Hermione, Luna, Ginny and Neville all gave their congratulations too and Harry felt that it had all been worth persevering after all.

* * *

It was a Wednesday, two days before Valentines Day.

The day had started off the same as any other.

The morning had gone well as Harry did well in Potions and Charms.

Then came the afternoon which went less well.

Harry had just finished lunch in the Great Hall with his friends and brother and they were walking, Harry's hand in Ginny's and Draco's hand in Luna's, down a corridor near the inner courtyard.

They were happily chatting away about Valentines Day when it happened "oh look it's Harry Potthead and the New Morons".

Harry had to roll his eyes at this.

Ever since he had rebuffed Nott's friendship back in First Year he had received nothing but insults from the Slytherin.

Insults than quite often led to physical altercations.

Today was one day on which Harry could not afford to be fighting with anyone.

He had plans for Valentines Day and he had been there when Professor McGonagall had threatened that any student to start a fight before that day would end up in detention for a week.

"Nott I'm busy. I have better things to do than fight with you" he told the pureblood.

He began to walk away "oh no you don't Potter. Boys".

Harry wearily turned around and saw Nott and his goons Crabbe and Goyle whip out their wands and aim them at him.

The next thing he knew spells were flying all over the place.

As one spell raced towards Ginny he pulled her to the ground with him to keep her safe.

He saw that Neville, Ron and Draco were retaliating while Luna had ducked for cover and was watching in horror.

The next spell called out made Harry's eyes widen "Serpensortia!" Nott shouted and in the next moment a large, hissing, angry, green snake appeared.

It reared up to attack Neville and Harry sprang into action just as Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall rounded the corner.

In front of their astonished eyes Harry shouted "Vipera Evanesca!" and the snake disappeared just inches from a terrified Neville who sighed in relief.

"What is the meaning of this!" professor McGonagall shouted.

Professor Snape merely stood there looking round at the students.

He gave all of them including Harry searching looks and, thankfully, seemed to understand that Harry had not been involved.

Just as Professor McGonagall shouted, another spell flew through the air hitting Hermione in the face.

She sank to the ground crying out and holding a hand over her mouth.

"Who did that?" Professor McGonagall demanded angrily.

"Excuse me Minerva, I happened to be watching and I regret to say it was Mr Goyle. I assure you he will be duly punished".

"We must also look into who started this fight" McGonagall insisted.

"Agreed" Snape said grimly.

The two Professors marched the students off up to the Headmasters Office all except for Hermione who was sent to the Hospital Wing to have her teeth, which grown oversized as a result of the spell thrown by Goyle, resized.

In a very short time after viewing various memories the three Professors determined that the fault lay entirely with the three Slytherin students.

Never before had Professor Snape sounded so incensed at behaviour from his own students "how dare you do something like this!" he shouted at Nott, Crabbe and Goyle who sat in front of him looking like deer's caught in the headlights.

"How dare you attack fellow students!" Professor Snape began to pace "I will be writing to all of your Parents about this incident" he stopped pacing "I also think it fair to take away..." he swallowed distastefully "fifteen points each".

"But Professor!..." Nott burst out.

"But nothing!" Snape thundered his face full of rage "nothing gives you the right to attack fellow students!. The three of you will receive detention and as the offence was committed against my fellow Professor students" he gestured a hand to Professor McGonagall "I feel it only fair that she determines the length of it and who you serve it with" he said grimly.

As the three Slytherins lapsed into silence Harry, Draco, Neville, Ron, Ginny and Luna were all ushered out of the office by Professor Snape who took them down to the Hospital Wing to see Hermione.

On the way there he stopped them all for a moment and asked in concern "are you all alright?".

He received nods in the affirmative from them all and so they kept walking.

They soon reached the Hospital Wing and were surprised to find their friend already waiting for them and seemingly in a very good mood "hi everyone" Hermione said cheerfully.

They all greeted her, thanked the Professor for bringing them to meet her and then they left to head off to their lessons.

That night as Harry sat in front of the roaring fire in the Gryffindor common room working on homework on Grindylows for Remus he gaped at Hermione.

She had opened her mouth to laugh at a joke made by Draco and he had distinctly seen that her teeth were different to how they had been before. They were...smaller...less pronounced.

He knew he probably shouldn't pry as she might not want to talk about it but he couldn't help saying something "Hermione what happened to your teeth? they're...different" he said.

Hermione grinned slyly.

A grin that was noticed by everyone else with them all commenting on the changes to her teeth.

Hermione looked round to make sure no one was listening and then launched into her explanation "well, when I went into the Hospital Wing to have my teeth checked over and fixed Madam Pomfrey told me to say stop when they were back to how they used be" she shrugged "I want them more straightened out so I didn't say anything for a while and let her fix them up".

Harry gaped.

He couldn't believe that Hermione would do such a thing.

Not that it was a crime or anything. It was just not like Hermione.

Sure she indulged in pranks and was willing to bend the rules for a good cause such as saving the stone in First Year but she would never usually stoop to something like this.

Harry laughed. He couldn't help it "you know Hermione, I'm sure we're having a bad influence on you" he said grinning.

Hermione smiled and punched him on the arm.

* * *

That next morning Harry woke up with knots in the pit of his stomach.

It had taken him a moment to realise just what day it was but when he did, he knew why he was so nervous, so worried.

You see, today wasn't just a normal day. Today was Valentines Day.

In fact it wasn't just Valentines Day, it was the first Valentines Day that he and Ginny would be spending together as a couple.

Working out what to do for her had taken up much of his time for several weeks.

He knew some of what she liked but not all and thus he had come up with a solution.

He had written to his Mother to ask her what sort of thing girls liked romance wise.

It was awkward and he'd hoped never to do it but he wanted to make today as special as possible.

Not for the first time did he regret not being allowed to visit Hogsmeade this year as on Valentines Day, Third Years and above could take their dates down to the village on their date.

The response Harry had got back quickly in reply from his Mother was definite.

She told him that as long as they were together for the day, that was the most important part and he should just plan something simple.

It had taken a lot of effort but with help from Remus, Hagrid, Severus and Neville he had managed to put something together just in time for the special day.

After getting up he went for his usual early morning run joined this time, rather surprisingly by Remus and by Draco.

He surmised that Ginny must be getting ready for the day as would Luna likely be as well.

"So you two, got any plans for today?" Remus asked them both as the three of them jogged slowly round the grounds.

As they stopped for a moment to catch their breath Harry told him "it's a secret but I hope Ginny will like it".

Remus grinned at this and then turned to Draco who said "I wasn't sure what the best idea was so I've made some lunch for us to eat in Hagrids cabin".

Remus laughed lightly "seems like a decent idea to me. Not too complicated and she'll enjoy it".

Harry caught Draco's eye and grinned wickedly.

Draco caught the gesture and asked very casually "what about you Moony, seeing anyone special today?".

Their Uncle blushed so deeply that his face took on the appearance of a tomato "that's not really..." he began to say only for Harry to cut in "you asked us Moony".

"Yeah fairs fair Moony" Draco said smirking "I heard you've caught the eye of a certain Nymphadora Tonks".

Their Uncle groaned "look...I...she...I'm too old for her" he said lamely.

Both Harry and Draco guffawed "come off it Moony. It's only ten or so years it's not like you're as old as her Dad" Draco said.

Remus had no reply to this so Harry pressed the point "I know for a fact that Tonks likes you" he said.

Remus gaped at him "you...you do?...she...she does?" he stuttered.

"Yep that's right Moony old man" Harry said "seems like she has a thing for werewolves in battered jackets".

"It wouldn't work out" Remus said his face turning serious.

"How do you know?" Draco asked.

"It just wouldn't Draco. Leave it" Remus said firmly.

They however were not going to leave it.

Remus deserved someone kind and loving to be in a relationship with "look Moony" Harry began seriously "I know you think that being a werewolf you'd be a danger to her but that's nonsense".

Remus glared at him "Harry's right Moony. Tonks really fancies you. You'd be mad not to at least take her on a few dates and see where it leads".

Remus shook his head in despair "she wouldn't fancy me if she knew what I turn into every full moon" he said.

"She already knows" Draco said matter of factly.

Harry watched in amusement as Remus opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish several times before asking "who...how?".

"Dad told her" Draco informed him.

Harry saw Remus's face turn angry and knew he had to cut this off "don't even think about being angry with him" Harry said sternly surprising himself.

Remus glared at him "don't you see what this means Moony?" the werewolf shook his head causing Harry to sigh in frustration.

It was a sheer mark of the man at having dated so little that he had more understanding of dark creatures than he did of the opposite sex.

Hell, even Harry had more knowledge of girls and he was only thirteen!.

"What it means is that even though she knows you are a werewolf she doesn't care. She wants to date you anyway" Harry said simply.

Finally it seemed that their Uncle understood "so you two really think I should give it a go?" he asked.

"YES!" they both shouted in unison.

Their Uncle smiled and ruffled their hair causing them to protest "alright. I will".

Later that morning after a shower and a change of clothes Harry was waiting rather nervously in the common room.

He was dressed in the most smart clothes he owned, a tuxedo jacket, a white tie and shirt, black trousers and smarts black shoes.

He felt very subconscious, like he was at a funeral rather than waiting for the girl he loved.

In one hand he held a bunch of what he knew to be Ginny's favourite flowers, roses, carnations and begonias.

He twiddle the bunch in his right hand as with his left he attempted desperately to flatten his messy black hair.

Usually he was flattered when someone would say he looked like his Dad but today was really important for his relationship with Ginny and he didn't wait to spoil it by looking like he'd been pulled through a hedge backwards.

As he was waiting a nervous First Year tripped over a chair leg and accidentally splashed his drink all over Harry's trousers.

"Oh bloody hell!" Harry cursed in frustration.

The First Year gulped in terror but Harry was quick to reassure him knowing that the younger boy had not done it on purpose "hey don't worry about it. Accidents happen" he told the boy who gratefully squeaked "thanks and sorry" before scurrying off.

Harry set down the flowers and was about to clean up the stain on his trousers before an amused voice called out "had a little accident love?".

Harry whipped his head up so fast he thought he heard a crack in his neck "uh...uh...this...isn't...uh...isn't..." he stammered unintelligibly before seeing the look on his girlfriends face "don't worry" she told him with a grin "I saw it all as I was coming down the stairs".

She reached him and gave him a quick peck on the lips "I thought that was very sweet, what you said to that boy" she told him.

Harry shrugged but knew that his blush gave him away "well...wasn't his fault" he mumbled.

Ginny laughed and pulled him into a hug in which they stayed for a long time.

When they broke apart Harry quickly cleaned up the stain on his trousers before saying "happy Valentines Day my love" and handing her the bunch of flowers.

Ginny took them and sniffed them "they're lovely Harry" she said smiling "thank you, I love you". She kissed him on the cheek "shall we go down to breakfast?" she asked.

Harry nodded with a grin and the two of them set off through the portrait hole "you look beautiful Gin Gin" he said as they walked.

Beside him Ginny laughed "flatterer" she said but by the way she blushed he could tell she had liked the compliment.

They entered the Great Hall hand in hand not thinking about anything else in the world than themselves.

They chatted happily as they ate breakfast and were soon joined by Draco and Luna who they greeted cheerfully "so brother mine" Harry said "any special plans for the day?".

His brother grinned "now that would be telling" he said tapping the side of his nose.

Just as Harry and Ginny were finishing their breakfast Neville entered the hall with...Katie Bell!.

Harry was stunned.

The two of them walked into the Hall arm in arm chattering happily away about something.

As they drew level with the other New Marauders they sat down at an empty space opposite Harry and Ginny.

Harry was gaping at Neville.

His friend despite his confidence with everything else, was not at all confident with girls and yet here he was with Katie Bell who was two years older than him.

Harry decided not to ask him now how it had all happened, feeling that it would be rude so instead he said "morning Nev, morning Katie".

The couple smiled and said "good morning Harry" in perfect unison and returned to their breakfast after greeting the others.

Harry then got up from the table and kissed Ginny on the cheek "meet me by Hagrids cabin in..." Harry checked his watch "twenty minutes".

"Alright love see you in a bit" she replied as she sat back down.

Harry was out of the Great Hall and nearly at the large oak front doors when he distinctly heard the sounds of two people arguing.

He rolled his eyes and sighed wearily as he recognised the voices as being Ron and Hermione.

To his dismay he saw, to the right of the doors, his best friends engaged in a shouting match as usual.

As he drew near he began to pick up the conversation "I don't see what's so bloody hard about it Ronald!" Harry winced. Hermione only ever called him Ronald when she was really angry about something.

"It just is!" Ron shouted back.

Hermione threw her arms in the air "it was easy enough for Harry and Draco and Neville. All of them asked out the girls they liked".

Harry saw Ron looked upset "so why can't you do it with me?" she demanded.

Ron blushed "it...I...I'm not good with emotions ok" he said lamely "and I'm not confident with girls".

Harry watched as Hermione took Ron's hand and stroked it "you don't have to be confident with other girls silly. Just ask me out. Do it now and I'll say yes".

Harry thought for a mad moment that his friend was going to run away or freeze up.

The next words out of Ron's mouth thus surprised him "Mione, will you go on a date with me?" he asked sincerely.

Harry smiled and then his smile turned to amusement as Hermione's entire face lit up, she threw her arms around Ron's neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

Harry decided he didn't need to see anymore and coughed to announce his presence.

His friends broke apart like they'd done something naughty and both looked flushed "how...how long have you been there?" Hermione demanded of him.

Harry grinned "long enough to hear this prat..." he clapped Ron on the shoulder "ask you out at last".

"You knew I liked her?" Ron gaped.

Harry laughed hysterically "it was obvious mate. You've fancied her for years".

Ron didn't know what to say to this "I'm happy for you both" Harry told them genuinely "I can't stop I'm preparing a surprise for Ginny. I'll see you later" he winked at them both and sprinted past them, through the now open doors and across the sloping lawns in front of the castle all the way down to Hagrids cabin.

He knocked loudly to make sure that his large friend heard him.

Inside there was a rustling and then the sound of heavy boots clomping towards the door accompanied by a barking sound.

The door opened and Harry found himself face to face with Hagrid "hey Hagrid" he said with a grin.

"Harry there you are!" the half-giant replied amiably "come in, come in" he gestured to Harry.

Harry stepped inside and was almost bowled over by an excited Fang who began slobbering all over his face "down boy. down!" Hagrid called.

Fang back off a bit.

Harry used a spell to clean himself off and then stroked the happy boarhound "I've got that picnic basket somewhere here" Hagrid told him and then began rummaging about in search of it.

He took so long that Harry was worried he'd lost it but as he was about to start panicking Hagrid said "ah here it is" and held aloft a large wicker basket with a handle.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and took the proffered object "thanks for keeping it safe Hagrid" he said gratefully.

His friend chuckled "not a problem Harry. taking Ginny somewhere nice are yeh?".

Harry smiled and replied "a picnic by the Black Lake. Ginny's always loved that spot".

Hagrid chuckled again "you're doing better than your Father did at his age" he said.

Harry grinned at that.

He'd heard the many stories of his Dad attempting to win over his Mum while they'd been students and how many times she'd rejected him due to his childish behaviour.

There was a light knock on the door and Harry stood up feeling suddenly nervous "don't worry you'll be fine" Hagrid assured him as he moved over to the door and opened it "hello Ginny!" he heard Hagrid say.

"Hello Hagrid, is Harry in there?".

"Course he is!" Hagrid replied.

Harry walked to the door, basket in hand "hi Gin Gin, ready to be off".

Ginny looked confused "you mean we're not stopping?" she said.

Harry shook his head "nope. I've got a good spot for this" he said tapping the basket.

He headed out of the cabin calling out "thanks again Hagrid".

After they'd walked for a while Ginny asked impatiently "where are we going?" as he'd blindfolded her.

"You'll see soon my love I promise" he said.

After a few minutes more of walking they reached the Black Lake.

Harry guided Ginny over to the tree under which they both liked to sit and relax.

He put the basket down carefully, unfolded the blanket and placed it at the base of the tree and then undid and removed his girlfriends blindfold.

Ginny gasped in surprise "the Black Lake!" she exclaimed happily.

Harry chuckled.

She turned to face him "I thought we could have a picnic and relax under the tree while I read your favourite book to you".

Ginny threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close, hugging him for the longest time.

Harry got the feeling that his assumption had been correct.

For the rest of the morning and throughout the whole afternoon they picnicked, read, joked, told stories and watched the Giant Squid swimming.

That evening after a very enjoyable day they headed back to the castle Ginny's hand clasped firmly in his and went to the Valentines Day feast where there was much food and much music.

Despite all of it the only thing on his mind throughout it was Ginny.

Later that night they sat in companionable silence on a sofa near the fireplace and watched the flames dance merrily in the grate "I do love you Harry" his girlfriend said softly.

Harry kissed her on the cheek and rested his head against hers "and I love you Ginny. so very much".

* * *

Ok readers that is Chapter Twenty Two done and dusted. Just a reminder that reviews are much appreciated and lead to quicker updates.

The next chapter will Celia go into labour, Buckbeaks hearing arrive, Hermione squares up to Nott and the group prepare for end of year exams all while juggling love.


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: The World of Harry Potter & all characters belong to JK Rowling with the exception of Celia, Molly, David, Lucy, Janice & any other character you don't recognise.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello all my wonderful readers, reviewers and favouriteers. Hope you are doing well. Not much to say except hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Three: Revision, Labour, Hermione cracks & A Hearing

April arrived bright and sunny. It was still quite chilly what with it only being mid spring but Harry didn't mind as long as it wasn't raining.

It seemed a long time since Valentines Day and the wonderful day he'd had with Ginny.

Harry felt regret that he couldn't spend more time with her.

Due to their age difference he didn't see her in class and a lot of his time was taken up with homework assignments, Quidditch practice as their next match of the season was coming up at the end of the month and of course...exams.

As a matter of fact the only time save for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a brief snuggle in the common room, was on the weekends and even then it was limited due to said Quidditch practice.

Harry felt such a weight pressing on him from all his commitments that he felt he would soon go mad unless something changed.

Thankfully Ginny was very understanding of his situation and had told him that she didn't mind them not spending so much time together as they could see each other all summer.

Summer.

Right now Harry would give anything for it to be the summer holidays so that he would have a chance to rest and recharge his batteries.

The fact was that he was feeling burned out.

"Harry concentrate!" Hermione snapped.

Harry sighed.

Hermione had been getting steadily more grouchy as the weeks had gone on.

She was obsessed with revision and passing every exam with a perfect pass grade.

Even the subjects that would have no use in a future career such as Muggle Studies.

She was snappish with her friends and with Ron.

Poor, poor Ron.

He and Hermione had got together on Valentines Day and were generally happy together.

Although Harry was irritated to note that this happiness did not preclude the usual shouting matches that the two had become so fond of over the years.

"I said concentrate Harry!" he felt something hard hit him on the head and he saw stars.

He shook his head a few times and rubbed the top of it "ow Hermione what was that for?" he said feeling annoyed.

"You weren't paying attention. this is important revision" she insisted.

Harry rolled his eyes.

If Hermione had her way all of the New Marauders and probably the whole of Gryffindor House would do nothing but revise.

"Hermione the exams are two months away" he pointed out reasonably.

Hermione slammed her book down on the table and glared at him "don't you want to do well in these exams? don't you want to get good qualifications for your future career?" she demanded of him.

Harry laughed causing her glare to intensify "Hermione I'm going to be Quidditch player so I doubt I need a qualification for..." he glanced at the book he was reading "History of Magic".

"History is very important to know" Hermione said indignantly.

Harry sighed "yes I know Hermione. I enjoy reading about history too but it's not going to help me get accepted by the Wimbourne Wasps is it?".

Hermione glared at him before turning to Ron "what do you think Ron?".

His best friend stared in horror at his girlfriend before flicking his eyes over to Harry.

Harry felt for him.

It was such a horrible choice.

He tried to convey with his eyes that Ron should side with Hermione.

Ron hesitated and continued to look from Hermione to Harry and back again.

Harry could see he was sweating "I think...".

Harry suddenly knew what Ron would say and tried to dissuade him by mouthing "don't say it".

It was too late as Ron declared "Harry's right. History of Magics no use to him".

Harry face palmed and saw Draco and Neville do so as well.

Draco even said "bad move Ron".

Neville added "you idiot".

Ron looked at them in confusion and then..."so that's it is it? you side with your best friend over your girlfriend do you?" Hermione demanded, hands on hips.

Ron gulped and then dug an even deeper hole for himself "well...he is my best friend Mione".

Harry shook his head at his friends stupidity.

Hermione scowled at her boyfriend "I see" she said through gritted teeth.

She grabbed her bag, picked up her book and stormed off in the direction of the stairs.

Harry watched Ron gape in confusion as Hermione stomped down the stairs to her dorm room.

Once she was out of sight he turned to Ron and said "you bloody idiot".

Ron gaped at him now "what? what did I say?" he asked his friends.

Draco and Neville laughed.

Ron glared at them "what's so funny?" he said.

Through his laughter Draco said "didn't anyone ever tell you, you always side with your girlfriend?".

Ron looked nonplussed and looked to Harry for explanation.

Harry burst out laughing with the others before telling him "she wanted you to agree with her".

"But...I didn't" Ron said simply.

Harry rolled his eyes "I know you didn't Ron but you can side with me anytime. you should have pretended".

"But...but..." Ron spluttered.

Harry rolled his eyes again.

He loved Ron like a brother but there really was no hope for him as far as love went.

Ron just...didn't get that sort of thing as quickly as the rest which was quite surprising given he was a master strategist.

* * *

The first week of April went by in a flash for Harry, so absorbed was he by Quidditch, exam revision, classes and spending time hanging out with both his girlfriend and friends.

That Friday started out the same as any other. He had got up as usual, gone his for his jog being joined by Draco, Neville, Ginny and Luna.

They did three laps of the entire castle to help their stamina levels and cardio before returning to the castle.

After he'd had a nice hot shower and a change of clothes Harry had felt refreshed and ready for the day that would follow.

He breakfasted as normal in the Great Hall with Ginny and his other friends next or just across from him.

As Harry was chatting with them about the Quidditch match taking place in a few weeks time there was the usual fluttering of wings and a large numbers of owls began to descend from the ceiling to dish out their parcels and letters to the students.

Harry continued to eat his breakfast.

He had only sent his most recent letter off with Hedwig the night before so he had no expectation of receiving any post for a few days at least if not a full week given how tiring the trip was between Scotland and the West Country of England.

He was therefore very surprised when he saw his Parents owl Merlin descending towards him, a letter clutched in his talons.

The owl landed gracefully in between two cereal bowls and lifted it's leg.

Harry untied the string holding the letter in place and after giving Merlin a stroke gave him some toast he'd been eating and allowed the tired owl to have a sip of pumpkin juice.

The owl hooted in gratitude at this and then took off showing that he was not expecting nor instructed to wait for a reply.

Harry knew he'd be off to the owlery for a nice long sleep before his weary flight back to Devon.

Feeling curious as to the contents of the letter Harry began to open it at the same time he took another bite of toast.

He slipped the letter from the envelope and began to read.

The first few lines seemed normal. Asking how he was, letting him know that everyone was in general good health. His Dad was suffering from a mouth ulcer, his Godfather Sirius had successfully caught two witches practising dark magic in an attempt to kill an in law they hated.

David was learning fast with letters and numbers and had made friends with the young children of another family of wizards who had moved in nearby.

Harry was glad for that. It was time David finally had children his own age to play with.

Thankfully the family also had a daughter the same age as Molly which meant she had a friend to play games with and chat to and by all accounts they were plotting pranks regularly which made Harry chuckle as he thought of what the two girls could contribute next year at Hogwarts.

Peter was doing well with the shop in Diagon Alley and making good profits.

It was the line below that that cause Harry to accidentally choke on his toast.

His Aunt Celia had gone into labour that very morning.

Harry felt his brother at his right hand side pat his back strongly. Thankfully he coughed up the toast but his throat felt very sore.

Ginny pushed a goblet of water over to him from which he drank deeply.

He then looked at Draco and was about to ask if he'd got a letter.

Draco having clearly read his thoughts held up his own letter from his Mum saying much the same as Harry's had.

The others at the table were looking between the two of them in confusion so Harry told them croakily "our Aunt Celia has gone into Labour".

"It started last night" Draco finished for him showing everybody his letter.

There were many happy pronouncements at this and Harry decided to contact his family on his two way mirror when he had a spare moment to find out what was happening.

As it happened he had a free period before his first lesson of the day which was double Transfiguration.

Making his mind up he returned to Gryffindor Tower with Draco and Neville while Ginny and Luna headed off to a dull History of Magic lesson chattering happily about what the baby would be.

Ron meanwhile, was dragged off to the library by an insistent Hermione to do yet more revision.

As he was dragged off by the hand he gave a desperate look to Harry and the other who merely shrugged, grinned or offered sympathetic looks.

Harry decided that the best place to head to was his dorm room as only He, Draco and Neville would be there meaning he could contact his family in peace.

As soon as they reached the room Neville shut the door and the three boys plopped down on Harry's bed.

Harry rummaged through his bedside table and found the two way mirror which he found to be quite smudged.

After quickly cleaning it he held it up and called out "James Potter" there was no reply.

He tried again "James Potter" still nothing.

Finally "Dad!" he shouted.

There was a shuffling of feet, a rustling sound and his Dad's face appeared in the mirror. He was grinning "hello Harry, Draco, Neville, I had a feeling you'd all be calling after this morning's letter. I'm surprised that Ron and Hermione aren't here with you though" he said.

"Revision" Harry said smiling.

"Ah" his Dad replied "she always has been very keen about her books. I assume it wasn't Ron's choice".

The three boys laughed "no definitely not Uncle James" Draco responded.

"So what's happening with Aunt Celia Dad?" Harry asked feeling worried.

His Dad smiled which reassured him "she's fine Harry. She's a bit tired and she's swearing a lot" he grinned "but other than that the labour is going well. I'll let you know when something more happens ok?".

Harry nodded. He, Draco and Neville all said goodbye and Harry placed the mirror carefully inside the top drawer of his bedside cabinet, this time wrapped in a towel to hopefully avoid it getting smeary again.

Harry struggled to concentrate as the day wore on.

In double Transfiguration he was in such a daze wondering what his sibling or siblings would be like that he missed the instructions on changing a blackbird into a toast rack.

Needless to say Professor McGonagall was not impressed when she came to the table he shared with Draco and Ron, to find that Harry's toast rack had lot of black feathers, a beak and was clearly indignant at the position it found itself in.

Draco had been no better and in fact his Transfiguration attempt had been even worse with the bird having merely turned silver.

It was only through the intervention of Hermione, explaining just why they seemed so lacking in attention, that the stern Professor did not give them detention or dock points.

As a matter of fact she even smiled when told that Celia was pregnant and told Harry and Draco to pass on her best wishes which they agreed to do.

He was no better at lunch, picking at his food.

At one point he raised his fork with nothing on it and came very closing to biting metal, something that was only avoided by Ginny who pulled the fork away tutting and making sure he actually ate something.

During his free period he paced the common room, various horrifying scenarios playing through his head as was want to happen in such a situation.

He imagined everything from stillbirths to alien invasion to a mini Voldemort being born.

He continued to lack attention during Ancient Runes until Hermione...when had she appeared?, slapped him on the back of the head and made him listen to what Professor Babbling was telling them.

She even had to surreptitiously help him complete the tasks in order for him to not get in trouble.

He was surprised at her helping him only to understand when she explained that she didn't blame him for not really paying attention.

It was only after dinner that Harry got news of what had been happening with the labour.

As he was sat in the common room playing wizards chess, his mind not really on it and his eyes constantly flicking to the two way mirror on his lap a sudden noise made him jump.

He just about caught the mirror and then realised that the sound had come from it.

As he stared at the mirror, abandoning the chess game much to Ron's irritation, a voice came through and a face appeared...it was his Godfather Sirius who was grinning widely "Harry it's happened, your Aunts given birth!" he said happily.

Harry grinned back in amazement. it all seemed so quick "boy or girl Dad?" Draco cut in.

At these words Sirius' grin became, if possible, even bigger "both" he said.

Harry and Draco gaped at him in amazement "both?" they asked together.

Sirius nodded still grinning "she had the boy first and then the girl half an hour later" he told them.

"Are they..." Harry began to ask only for his Uncle to answer "they're both fine. They're healthy and happy and being cleaned up by the Medi Witch now".

Harry and Draco both grinned broadly and high fived "yes!" they shouted.

Draco then asked excitably "when do we get to meet them Dad?".

"Well" Sirius began "James is speaking to Professor Dumbledore now about letting you visit tomorrow afternoon what with it being a Saturday and everything. If he says yes, I'll swing by at say...two o clock and pick you and Remus up, I'll say goodnight boys".

"Night" they both replied happily.

"What do think they called them?" Harry said to Draco as they sipped hot chocolate by the fire.

Draco took his time pondering the question before answering "I like Mark as a name for the boy".

"Lily or Alexandra are nice girl names" Harry said.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see tomorrow" they said as one.

* * *

Needless to say, when both Harry and Draco got up the next morning they were still excited.

After all, it isn't everyday that one meets a new sibling.

The two of them debated endlessly that morning as they jogged around the grounds, as they played chess and I Spy and as they ate their lunch.

Harry believed that their new siblings would more favour their Dad while Draco had bet him that they would take after Aunt Celia.

After eating their lunch they bade goodbye to their friends promising to say congratulations on their behalf and left the Great Hall with Remus.

All three of them were smiling at the thought of meeting the two newest members of the Marauder Clan.

The entrance to the Professors Office was thankfully on the Third Floor today so it didn't take them long to reach it.

They had already been told the password and so said the phrase "Sherbet Lemon".

"That's the second time in two years he's used that" Draco remarked as they stepped onto the staircase.

As it wound it's way up Harry replied "well I expect he's run out of sweet names by now".

"I'd definitely say he should change his password more" Remus added in amusement.

The three of them laughed and Harry added "wouldn't be surprising given how long he's been Headmaster".

In almost no time at all the stairs stopped moving and they found themselves in the corridor that led to Dumbledore's Office.

As they approached the doors Harry checked his watch and found that they were five minutes early.

Given how disorganised Sirius usually was it wouldn't be all that shocking if he was late picking them up.

They reached the office and the doors opened by themselves to admit them.

"Ah hello boys, Remus" Professor Dumbledore said from the seat behind his desk.

"Hello Professor" they both said.

"Hello Albus" Remus said. Harry could tell that Remus had been a bit unsure about using the Professors first name despite the fact that the old wizard had asked him on multiple occasions to do so.

"Take a seat, make yourselves comfortable" the old wizard said "I am sure that Sirius will be late as usual" they all chuckled over that.

"Sherbet Lemon?" he asked them.

Harry accepted as he loved the sweet but Draco said "no thanks" as he'd never been a great fan of them.

"Ooh lovely" Remus said as he took one, popped it in his mouth and began to suck.

"I expect you are all excited to meet your new family members" Dumbledore said warmly as they sat waiting.

Harry and Draco both nodded grinning while Remus replied "I can't believe how much our family has grown" he turned melancholy for a moment "I never thought I'd have such a family".

Harry patted him on the shoulder "you're as much a part of the family as everyone else Moony" he assure his Uncle.

Draco nodded and said "where would we be without you to help us plan our pranks at home".

Remus smiled and replied "thanks boys".

After what seemed like an age, Harry glanced at his watch again and found much to his irritation that Sirius was indeed late. Ten minutes late to be exact.

No sooner had he checked the watch than the fireplace flared up with green flames and out stepped Sirius who used his wand to clean off the soot and said "right then, who's ready to meet the newest Marauders?".

"Padfoot you were supposed to be here ten minutes ago" Harry said chidingly, tapping his watch to emphasise the point.

"Yeah Dad we hurried through lunch to get up here" Draco grumbled.

To their annoyance Sirius just laughed "sorry Prongslet and Pup" he said using their nicknames "just found it hard to tear myself away from my new nephew and niece".

"Well I too would like to see them soon. Hurry up you mangy dog" Remus said jokingly.

Sirius looked mock offended "I'll have you know my dear Moony that I am not mangy. I had a shower today!".

Everyone laughed at this and Sirius walked over to his Godson and Son.

As he reached them he drew them into a hug.

A question popped into Harry's head and he asked "have they chosen names for them yet?".

Sirius shook his head "well what about who the Godparents will be?" Draco asked.

Again Sirius shook his head "they said they wanted to wait until you three got there so all the family would be together".

Harry and Draco both grinned at these words.

Harry felt very touched by the sentiment could tell from the bond with Draco that his brother felt exactly the same way.

After a quick goodbye to Professor Dumbledore the four wizards stepped one at a time into the flames, called out St Mungo's Hospital, Lobby" and vanished in a roar of green flames as they went to meet their new family members.

* * *

Harry stepped out of the flames and joined Sirius, Draco and Remus who were waiting to be greeted by the Welcome Witch, a middle aged woman in black robes who despite her job title was always less than welcoming to both visitors and patients.

The queue very quickly moved along and soon Harry, Draco, Remus and Sirius, standing three to a line found themselves in front of the woman who said very waspishly "yes?".

Harry glared at the woman's rudeness as did Draco but they both kept quiet as a calm Sirius said "we're here to visit Mrs Celia Pettigrew".

"Level Six Maternity Ward" the woman said brusquely "the lifts are out of order you'll have to use the stairs" as she said this last, she smirked.

Harry could tell Sirius wanted to throttle the smug woman and was about to say something when Remus said calmly "thank you for the information" and steered Harry away.

Sirius reluctantly steered Draco away and the four of them headed for the stairwell.

The four of them walked and walked up the various stairways until they reached the Sixth Floor.

Harry, Draco and Remus waited in amusement as Sirius, following on behind, paused near the double doors to get his breath back.

"Getting a bit old eh Padfoot?" Harry said amusedly causing Draco and Remus to laugh.

Sirius didn't even have the energy to retort as he pushed open the ward doors and pushed Harry and Draco through while Remus followed on just behind.

They strolled over to the nurses station and the nurses giggled as they saw Sirius.

Harry rolled his eyes.

His Godfather seemed to be attractive to most women he met.

Harry supposed it must be his Godfathers grey eyes as most women seemed to stare at them.

"Sirius get on with it" Remus said half amused half annoyed.

"What...oh yes" Sirius seemed to gather himself.

"We're here to see Celia Nora" he told what seemed to be the senior nurse.

She smiled "follow me" she led them down the corridor all the way to the end of it, opened the door and said warmly "Celia, there's some visitors for you".

A voice from inside the room said "thanks Nora I'll see them now".

Sirius pushed Harry and Draco in first and they clapped eyes on Lucy and Janice who were on the left hand side and Peter, Molly and David who were on the right hand side.

Standing near the door were the House Elves Dobby, Tipper and Molter who all began to bow before the visitors, until Sirius assured them there was no need.

"You're part of the family Tipper, Dobby, Molter and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I see you have no need to bow".

Every member of the Marauder Clan voiced their support for his words.

The House Elves reddened and Tipper being eldest moved to speak "we could not accept such a thing" he told them all.

"You can and you will. That's an order" James told them.

The three House Elves looked to the family members and then conferred with each other before Tipper declared "if that is the will of the Clan we will accept these wishes".

Everyone smiled at this and then Lucy said "my darling boy" to Harry and moved swiftly over to hug him kissing him on the forehead as Janice did the same muttering "my Son. my beautiful Son".

Janice and Lucy then switched hugging their Nephews.

They received further hugs from James who chuckled and said "the family just keeps growing". Words which they both chuckled at.

Finally, their Uncle Peter came forward to grab both boys in a fierce hug. When he broke the hug he ruffled their hair and said "oh I missed you young rascals this year. What with Moony being at Hogwarts too and Prongs and Padfoot busy at the Ministry I've had no one to plot pranks with".

Someone coughed and Harry could see an offended look on his Sister Molly's face "so I'm no one now am I Uncle Wormtail!".

Their Uncle looked embarrassed before clarifying "I meant to say almost no one".

Harry's Sister was clearly not appeased but she decided to say nothing further due to where they were.

Instead, she walked on over to Harry and Draco and hugged them firmly "I missed you guys so much" she said.

When they broke off she said "I can't wait to come to Hogwarts and see you beat Ravenclaw Harry" Harry laughed at this and replied "glad to see you have so much faith in me".

His Sisters face turned serious "always. I will always have faith in you and Draco, never doubt that".

Harry smiled and Draco replied "we won't. We promise" they hugged again before going over to greet David who smiled and said he was happy to see them.

Eventually a voice cut in with much amusement "have my two oldest Nephews forgotten about me?".

Harry and Draco exchanged a look, looked at their Aunts face and then laughed as they saw the corners of her mouth upturned in a smile.

They ran to the bed and kissed her cheek. They then stood there reluctant to hug her "you can hug me you know" she said chuckling.

They did so and then a voice they recognised as their Uncle Peters said "time to meet your new siblings".

Peter called out into the hallway "please bring our Son and Daughter".

In moments the nurse they had spoken to arrived with a Medi Witch, they handed the boy to Peter and the girl to Celia.

Harry's first impression of the boy who was snuggly wrapped in a towel, was that he had very brown hair, what his Mum often called mousy brown and was the same shade as his Uncles.

He could not see anything else.

As for the girl he could just see a shock of coal black hair the same shade as his Aunt Celia.

Peter moved over to them to show them the boy, pulling the towel from his face. Harry saw that the boy had a chubby face as most babies seemed to have and eyes of the same blue.

Harry smiled happily at him and laughed when the baby grabbed his finger and held on "he's adorable Uncle Wormtail" Harry said.

Peter smiled "isn't he just" he kissed the boys forehead.

"What's he called?" Harry asked.

His Uncle grinned and looked to his wife who nodded happily "we have decided to call him Harold Mark Pettigrew" Harry was stunned at this news and gaped at his Uncle who teased "might want to close your mouth Harry before I rethink naming you his Godfather".

Harry gaped even more feeling stunned for the second time that afternoon "I...but...you...I..." he stammered, at a loss for words.

After a time Harry regained his composure and moved to hug his Uncle who had handed the baby to Remus.

As Harry hugged him a tear rolled down his cheek "I...thank you" Harry said "I won't let you down" he looked to Celia "either of you".

Celia smiled warmly "we know. That's why we made you Godfather. You may be reckless sometimes Harry but you love this family as much as we do".

Harry nodded at this before moving over to meet his Sister while Draco switched places and went to meet their Brother.

Harry stared into his Sisters eyes which were a deep brown and as he did so felt a sharp resolve.

Just as he had vowed previously to protect his Sister Molly and Brother David, he would do so now with his new siblings.

"What's her name?" he asked as he stroked the babies cheek softly. The baby giggled.

Celia called everyone's attention "we decided on the name Lily Luna Pettigrew" she smiled "we think it works".

Harry grinned at this "good name" he caught his Dad's eye as he stood next to his Mother and knew that his Dad was thinking as he was about his birth Mother and how proud and happy Lily Potter would be and most likely was.

Harry turned to Draco and nodded. The two of them knelt and swore their vow "I take this oath, as a part of the Marauder Clan, I shall from this day until my last, help and protect Harold Mark Potter and Lily Luna Pettigrew my siblings, so I speak, so I intend".

A white light swirled about the room leaving no one in any doubt of the significance of the oath.

It was magically binding and Harry was determined that he would never break it.

* * *

The next week of April passed uneventfully until it reached the 20th of April.

Harry, his Brother Draco, Neville, Ron and Hermione were all given special leave by Professor Dumbledore to miss school for the day and so headed up to London for Buckbeaks hearing.

It had not gone well.

Despite Hagrids efforts to convince them that Buckbeak was not a bad creature and had merely reacted to being insulted and despite the sworn testimonies under oath of Harry, Draco, Neville, Ron and Hermione who had sworn that Buckbeak had not meant to hurt Harry, that it had been accidental and that the animal had only reacted to Nott because of Nott's comment, all of this seemed to count for nothing.

Even with the evidence showing that Buckbeak had not hurt any human prior to the incident the panel were not swayed and no wonder given that one of their number was the fat, snobbish, Deatheater (though the last fact was not known to many) Patroclus Nott.

It took very little time for the panel to return from their deliberations and render the verdict.

It was only one word. Just one simple word but it cause Hagrid to howl in grief and misery, Draco and Hermione to turn pale, Ron and Neville to curse the panel in anger and Harry to want to strike the judges down.

The verdict?...GUILTY.

"Noooooo!" Hagrid howled despondently shaking his head.

"This is an outrage!" Neville shouted.

"You bloody snobs!" Ron yelled "that creature has ten times the nobility of you!".

The New Marauders led their distraught large friend from the courtroom and returned with him to Hogwarts, all of them feeling very upset, their emotions in turmoil.

All of their hard work. All of their evidence. All of the sworn testimonies. None of it had meant anything.

None of it had made any difference whatsoever.

The result, Harry realised now, had been a foregone conclusion from the moment the hearing had been convened and the reason for why, made Harry burn in barely suppressed rage.

The other judges with Nott had been either threatened into supporting him or had taken bribes for no honest witch or wizard could have heard the evidence and voted in such a way.

The thing that made Harry burn up the most inside was that he could do nothing about it.

An appeal would be useless, as would his waylaying Nott and releasing his anger on him.

He knew that all such a reckless decision would achieve would be to earn a detention and probable points loss for his House.

Harry knew that there was only one thing he could do.

It was reckless but to Harry's mind it was necessary.

He would not let a innocent creature nor a good friend suffer for something so disgraceful.

He would set Buckbeak free and get him to safety.

To do so however he would need the help of not just his friends but also a certain DADA Professor.

'I will save Buckbeak' he promised himself.

* * *

The next day, a Tuesday, the morning seemed to drag on far too much for Harry's liking.

Despite it being one of his favourite subjects, he drifted through Ancient Runes barely paying attention to Professor Babbling as she talked about some rune or other and got the class to list it's various meanings.

In Herbology things went so bad that he was bitten by a vicious plant and had to be taken to the Hospital Wing by Draco while losing ten points for Gryffindor for his carelessness.

That lunchtime Harry was barely able to eat a thing as he mulled over the plan he had formed in his head.

He found the others to be much the same and suggested to Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione that they take a walk down to Hagrid's cabin to comfort him and see Buckbeak.

They had exited the inner courtyard and were heading down the steps on the path to Hagrid's cabin when a very unwelcome voice said sneeringly "off to visit the filthy Half-Breed and his stupid pet are we?".

Harry's legs froze and he turned to glare at Nott "don't push me Nott. I'm not going to take this crap from you today".

Nott's sneer deepened and he simpered "ooh the poor little Mudbloods and Blood Traitors are upset for the dirty little beast" he mimicked rubbing his eyes "ooh dear".

It happened quick as a flash.

One moment Nott was being his usual rude, arrogant self, the next he was flat up against a tall stone, his eyes wide in terror.

Of all the people to have snapped under Nott's taunts and generally vile behaviour, the last person he would have expected was..."Hermione!".

Hermione did hear his warning as she shouted as loud as he had ever heard, her wand pointed at Nott's chest "you vile loathsome cockroach!. You dare to strut around this school like you own it!. Like you're some great wizard!".

Harry reached out to stop her feeling worried, she shrugged off his hand not taking her eyes off Nott "what great deeds have you ever done?" she said sneeringly "what use are you, you pathetic little weasel!".

Hermione snorted at Nott's terror "typical of a bully and a coward. You confront them and they crumble" she shook her head and let go of Nott as she pulled her wand away and holstered it.

She made to walk off as everyone else present breathed a sigh of relief.

Nott however would not let it go. Did not have any sense.

He shouted "that's it you Mudblood!. Run away!. My Father will hear of this".

Harry had no time to react.

Hermione turned to Nott, bunched her right hand up into a fist and as hard as she could swung it at Nott's head.

It connected with a sickening crack as his nose broke and the smug pureblood slid down to the floor at the base of the stone clutching his nose.

Crabbe and Goyle made to get revenge for their fallen leader but Harry, Neville, Draco and Ron pulled their wands on them and backed down the path pushing Hermione ahead of them.

She had one last insult for Nott as she shouted "tell your Father about that you slimy snake!".

As they neared Hagrid's cabin Ron exclaimed "wow Hermione that was incredible!".

Harry, Draco and Neville all expressed their agreement and to their surprise their bushy haired friend grinned.

Massaging her hand she remarked "that felt good".

As she walked away Ron murmured to Harry "you know mate I'm beginning to think we've been a bad influence on her".

Harry smirked as he agreed.

Hermione had certainly come a long way from that day in the field.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello everyone. Another chapter done and dusted. The next chapter will wrap up Third Year for the New Marauders and will see Remus transform & unwittingly battle Sirius, a confrontation between Harry and Mundungus Fletcher and the rescue of Buckbeak.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please, please remember to review so I know if people are enjoying this story.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: The Potter Universe & all it's characters belong JK Rowling. I make no claim on them & no profit from it.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello everyone. Hope you've enjoyed the story to this point. This is the last chapter of Third Year.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Four: Quidditch Final, Buckbeaks Execution, Exams & Showdown

It was now the last Saturday in April. The day was cool but sunny.

'Perfect Quidditch weather' thought Harry as he went for his customary jog around the grounds being sure to keep away from the Dementors.

He still could not believe that the dark creatures had not been removed and knew that his Dad and Ron's Dad among others had argued the point with the Minister only for her to insist that she was under pressure to catch Fletcher and needed the dark creatures to do so.

As the Quidditch match did not start until around two pm Harry decided to visit Hagrid in his cabin.

Neville, Ginny, Draco, Luna and Hermione all went with him as did a reluctant Ron who they'd dragged on their jog with them.

"Well hello there you lot" said a smile Hagrid.

His beetle black eyes looked happy and Harry wondered what could have put their half-giant friend in such a good mood.

Hagrid bustled about the kitchen area gathering up spoons, mugs and everything else needed for tea.

Once the kettle had brewed it brought the water over in a tea pot.

Setting the tray down on the table he said "help yourselves to sugar and biscuits".

They did so and as Harry went to dunk a rich tea biscuit into his mug their large friend said with a grin "I think I've got something here that belongs to ya Ron".

Harry's best friend frowned slightly in confusion only for his face to light up as Hagrid reached into one of his coats inside pockets and pull out a ferret with what was unmistakably a bald head.

"Minky!" Ron exclaimed in delight.

Hagrid handed over the ferret and Ron clutched him to him looking joyful "are you alright little buddy?" he asked stroking the creature which looked terrified.

Turning his attention to Hagrid he asked "where did you find him Hagrid?".

Hagrid smiled "in me vegetable patch as a matter of fact. Poor thing looked starving and was nibbling on one of me raw carrots, so I brought him inside an gave him somethin ta eat".

Ron beamed at their large friend and said happily "thanks so much Hagrid. I really appreciate you caring for him".

Hagrid smiled and waved it off "t'was nothin" he said though Harry could see he was pleased to be thanked.

Harry was surprised when his best friend then turned to Hermione and said "I'm sorry I behaved like an idiot Hermione".

Harry couldn't believe he was hearing his friend apologise!.

Ron never apologised unless forced.

"I was an idiot and i jumped to conclusions".

Harry held his breath hoping Hermione would accept the apology with good grace.

To his great relief she did so, smiling and saying "it's fine Ron. You were upset and I accept the apology".

'That's one issue settled for good' Harry thought thankfully.

Conversation then turned to the Quidditch match that afternoon and Hagrid revealed that he had a little bet on with Professor Flitwick Head of Ravenclaw on who would win the match.

According to Hagrid, the diminutive Professor believed that their Seeker would catch the snitch instead of Harry.

From what Harry had seen of Cho Chang having caught both of Ravenclaws matches against Hufflepuff and Slytherin he knew he was in for serious competition and would need to be at the very top of his game in order to bring the trophy home for Gryffindor today.

He was very conscious that losing would mean they had to play another game against Slytherin in June.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Slytherin it was merely that he wished to end the season now and be able to then devote his time to his studies.

* * *

James was working like a man possessed as he tried to speed through the mountain of paperwork on his desk.

He kept glancing anxiously at his watch and noting that the time was passing by much too fast for his liking.

It was already twelve o clock and the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw was at two which gave him less than two hours if he wanted to have lunch before heading to Hogwarts.

He was amazed and proud of Harry so much.

His Son was an amazing Quidditch player better than him and considering he'd been approached to play at both club and international level that was saying something.

As he worked through his paperwork he mulled over the fact that despite this natural talent, Harry had not said anything about turning pro.

It made him wonder what his Son planned to do for a career.

There were certainly no shortage of careers if he continued to do so well academically and at Quidditch.

Harry could become a Professor, a Quidditch player or even an Auror.

James had promised himself and first Lily and then Lucy one thing, whatever career path his Son chose he would love him and support him unconditionally.

"Don't you have somewhere to be soon" said a deep voice.

James looked up and saw one of his Senior Aurors and a close friend Kingsley Shacklebolt standing in the doorway of his office.

He grimaced at these words and gestured to the absurdly high stacks of parchment "I would but the Minister needs these reports filled in before I leave".

Kingsley laughed, a deep booming sound from deep within "you're the boss for a reason James. If you can't delegate once in a while then what's the point of being in charge".

James smiled "no one would change places with me that's why I was named Head Auror".

Kingsley laughed again "James you head off to lunch and then you watch Harry's Quidditch game. I'll fill in the reports".

James felt so grateful he could barely express it "are you sure Kingsley?".

The black wizard grinned "go on get out of here before I change my mind" he said as he moved across the room to the desk.

James grabbed his wand, said "thanks Kingsley I appreciate it" and left the office in a rush as he headed for lunch.

an hour and a half and a change of clothes later and James was standing at the gates of Hogwarts.

He strode up to the gates and said to Dawlish who was the duty Auror "make sure you scan me" the Auror did so finding that he was definitely James Potter.

As James headed through the school gates he felt glad that he had put the scanning system in place.

Anyone whether they be Professor, Student, Caretaker, Auror or relative could not get through the gates without being scanned.

This coupled with the other security measures in place such as Aurors in Hogsmeade just a firecall away, he hoped would ensure the safety of everyone in Hogwarts and Hogsmeade though he still worried for his Son, Nephew and their friends.

As James headed to the stadium something barked loudly behind him.

He jumped and looked around wildly with his wand drawn for the source of the sound.

When he saw it was shaggy black dog he glared at the creature "Padfoot you bloody idiot change back" he said sharply.

In an instant, where the dog had been, stood Sirius his curly black hair messy as always, he was wearing red and gold clothes including a scarf all of which had the Gryffindor Griffon emblazoned on it proudly.

"Bit over dressed aren't you Padfoot" he said quirking an eyebrow.

His best friend shrugged carelessly "so what? I support my team".

James shook his head and rolled his eyes and turned to walk away.

The two men walked in silence down to the Quidditch stadium.

As they entered it they found that most of the spectator seats were already filled.

He headed over to the section where Ron, Draco, Neville, Hermione, Ginny and Luna all sat.

As James sat down he felt surprised that Luna would be there given she was a Ravenclaw and he had thought she would show House loyalty.

As he looked closer however he noted that she was wearing a scarf that was part orange and red and part blue and bronze with the badges of both Houses at separate ends.

And as James thought about he realised it made sense for her to be there with them.

Her boyfriend was a Gryffindor as were all of her other friends.

The teams walked onto the pitch and as James saw Harry striding on looking serious and a bit nervous he applauded and cheered loudly.

He saw his Son flick his eyes up to the stands and gave Harry a reassuring smile.

The match that followed was an amazingly close affair made very entertaining by the commentary of Lee Jordan and the attempts of Professor McGonagall to take the microphone from his grasp.

He watched as the game seesawed back and forth. At one stage Gryffindor was thirty points up only for Ravenclaw to peg them back and then surpass them on the scoreboard.

The back and forth went on for two hours and the scores by the two hour mark read "Gryffindor two hundred and fifty - Ravenclaw two hundred and fifty.

It was neck and neck. James had a feeling that the match would come down to the Seekers.

Whoever caught the snitch would win the game for their team.

He could see Harry flitting through the sky above the action as he and his opponent tried to find the little golden ball.

He watched on in dismay as Gryffindor went down by fifty points and seemed unable to score more goals.

The score was now 300 for Ravenclaw to Gryffindor's 250.

"Come on Harry!" James said feeling desperate.

As if his Son had heard his words he saw him descend into a steep dive which was matched by his opposite number.

Harry was just ten feet from the ground when he pulled up.

His opponent was forced to jump and roll as her broom closed on the ground.

Harry emerged triumphant holding the golden snitch.

The Gryffindor section and part of the Hufflepuff section erupted in jubilation.

For the second time in two years Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup and placed themselves closer to a third successive House Cup.

As James, Peter (who was there representing himself & Celia), Remus, Janice and Sirius hurried over along with Draco and the others, James couldn't help feeling so proud of his Son.

After Harry had been hoisted on the shoulders of the Gryffindor's and cheered as Wood held aloft the Quidditch Cup, James grasped his Son in a tight hug.

"I'm so proud of you my boy" he said tearfully.

The party that followed was, rightly so, raucous.

James stayed for a few hours alongside Peter and Sirius before the three of them had to leave.

He said goodbye to Remus and Harry's friends and then hugged Draco and Harry "I'll see the two of you in June at Kings Cross alright?" he said with a smile and then left.

Harry hugged him back fiercely.

* * *

Time moved on swiftly at Hogwarts. Despite the Quidditch season being over Harry still had little free time due to revision and the piles of homework set by most of the Professors in the lead up to the exams.

June arrived and with it sweltering heat.

Some said it was the hottest June in decades and judging by how humid it was in the Great Hall where Harry was currently sitting his History of Magic exam, he couldn't disagree.

It wasn't just the heat that made him feel drowsy, it was also due to the extremely boring and predictable exam topic set by Professor Binns. Goblin Rebellions.

Not only had Harry never been interested enough to pay attention in Binns' class, the subject matter was so dull and repetitive that he had done almost no revision.

'And in any case, in no job or career could I possibly have a use for history' he thought as he stifled a yawn with the back of his hand.

He stared at the exam paper which asked him to give the date of the most recent Goblin Rebellion, where it had occurred, why and what the end result had been.

He then glanced at his parchment upon which he had so far only written two words: "who cares" and punctuating it with an exclamation mark.

Harry knew he should try harder. He knew that his Parents would not be happy about his lack of effort and he knew too that Hermione would have some choice words about slacking when he spoke to her later.

But at this point he really didn't care.

He personally considered History of Magic or at least the way Binns taught it, to be the most pointless subject at Hogwarts next to Divination.

Harry smirked as he recalled Ron grumbling about the Divination exam and how he'd failed as he'd been unable to find anything when gazing into the crystal ball.

Harry had only had three words for him "serves you right".

Ron had been annoyed at this and had ignored Harry for the rest of the day.

Sighing, Harry dipped his quill into his ink pot and lowered it to the parchment where he proceeded to draw snitches and other Quidditch related pictures.

Finally the bell rang to signify the end of the lesson and Binns floated between the tables collecting up the exam papers.

Harry exited the Great Hall and was immediately waylaid by Hermione who said brightly"well...that was easy" and followed that up with: "I thought it would be more difficult".

As Draco, Neville and Ron caught them up Hermione asked him "how did you do Harry?".

Harry grinned and shrugged "I'll have failed" he said nonchalantly.

Hermione gaped at him in astonishment.

Her face became a mask of horror "you did try didn't you Harry?" she said.

Harry shook his head and laughed "I was so bored I spent the entire exam daydreaming and drawing things on my parchment" he explained.

Hermione looked furious and ran her hands through her bushy hair "you have to try harder!" she snapped "am I the only one who took it seriously?" she demanded of the others who had varying expressions on their faces.

Ron looked terrified, Neville was smirking and Draco laughed.

Hermione rounded on him "please tell me you tried at least Draco" she said desperately.

Draco laughed again in response "sorry Hermione but I think I speak for everyone here when I say it's the only subject I don't mind failing in".

Hermione huffed and stormed off looking upset.

"She needs to lighten up" Draco commented.

Harry and Neville laughed while Ron looked embarrassed.

* * *

A week later Harry was about to take what he was sure would be his favourite exam. It was for Defence Against The Dark Arts his favourite subject bar none.

As Harry, looking forward to it, waited for Remus to arrive, his thoughts turned to the rest of his exams which had varied per subject in enjoyment and success.

His Potions exam which had taken place on the same day as his History of Magic exam had gone better (though it couldn't have gone much worse) and he had managed to make a potion to cure boils though it was less effective than some.

He had earned a pass which was good enough for him. As much as he liked Severus he had no real interest in Potions.

As a matter of fact he held much more interest his Charms exam which had been the first one on Tuesday.

In said exam he managed to correctly cast a cheering charm on Ron.

The same unfortunately could not be said of Ron's charm cast on Harry which had been over done causing Harry to break into fits of hysterical laughter for a good five minutes until Professor Flitwick had managed to calm him down.

The afternoon exam on Tuesday was one that had made Harry very nervous.

He greatly enjoyed Transfiguration and was generally among those in his class to do well but he still worried that he had not done enough revision on the subject, especially given that the task set was to detail the process of transfiguring furniture into other furniture and to take into consideration factors which could interfere with the process.

Harry had had a bit of panic at the start of the exam when he struggled to recall what he'd read, but he soon recalled most of it and managed (he hoped) at least to get an Exceeds Expectations.

Wednesday morning saw his Ancient Runes exam in which he had had no issues recalling the revision and breezed through the questions laid out on the parchment.

That night at midnight was the one exam he hated aside from History of Magic.

Instead of being allowed to go to bed and get some much needed rest, he and all the other Third Years were stuck up on top of the Astronomy Tower taking their Astronomy exam.

He spent five boring hours charting the constellation of Orion, noting down the features he could spot through his telescope.

More than once he had fallen asleep and been prodded awake by either an irritated Hermione or Professor Sinistra.

Harry promised himself that after such an experience he would definitely be dropping the subject after Fifth Year.

He could see from the disapproving look given to him by the Professor that he probably hadn't done very well.

After a much needed sleep Harry had got up at eleven am, had some food, gone for a jog and crammed in much needed revision for the Thursday exam which found Harry and friends standing by Hagrids cabin in the sunshine for what Harry could only describe as an awful exam.

Disheartened by the soon to be execution of Buckbeak, Hagrid had not had the heart to create an exciting exam for them.

It didn't help of course that he still worried over his job despite the personal backing of Dumbledore and most students.

The task that was set for them was to look after a few Flobberworms each. If all yours lived then you'd doubtless get the highest grade, if some died but most lived then you'd get the second highest, if most died then you'd get a pass and if none lived then you'd get one of the fail grades presumably.

Harry thankful that Hermione had constantly pestered them all to do some reading on Flobberworms and what they ate as well as other basic way to take care of them.

It was thanks to having such information that Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron and Neville all had a completely surviving group of Flobberworms each and Harry felt confident that he'd managed the highest grade possible or at least an Exceeds Expectations.

Friday morning arrived and the Third Years were in Greenhouse Two for their Herbology exam.

Harry was not fussed by this exam but he was partnering with Neville who loved Herbology and Harry had resolved to do his very best to not let his best friend down.

The students had been tasked with potting Mandrakes.

This was not an easy task due to the high pitched wailing sounds emitted by the plants prior to being potted.

Each student had to wear a pair of earmuffs tight over their ears or risk fainting.

Neville had done so once in Second Year but had luckily learned from the incident and together with Harry, handled the plants with much care.

They managed to plant all of the plants within the exam time which made Harry hopeful that the two of them had done well grade wise.

Harry was brought back to the present as a voice said "well is everyone ready?", he looked up from the ground and found that Remus had arrived and was beaming at the assembled students.

"Very good, follow me" he instructed.

The group were led from the DADA classroom, through the castle and through the grounds to the slopes near Hagrids cabin.

Harry's eyes popped out in shock.

set out on the slops was a vast assault course containing old tires, ditches and a deep paddling pool.

His Uncle explained to them all that the objective was to defeat, confuse and avoid as many of the dark creatures as possible.

Harry grinned.

You don't live with two Aurors and two more experts at DADA without picking up a few tips and tricks.

Harry had no idea how Remus had managed to create such a course in such little time but he had a feeling he'd enjoy the task immensely.

And so he did.

To start with he managed to throw a stunner at the Grindylow and leap over the pool to avoid being attacked.

He moved swiftly on to a series of potholes on the hill within which, hid a group of Red Caps.

Using his lightning quick reflexes and knowledge of defensive and offensive spells he managed to avoid and blast his way past the Red Caps and moved on to a patch of marsh on the other side of the assault course.

As he was carefully trying to pick his way over the murky ground a Hinkypunk made itself know and began gesturing with it's hands, pointing to the the trees on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and shouting "it's over this way! quick! go this way!".

Harry shook his head "I'm not going to fall for it" he told the creature and then walked off in what he was sure was the right direction.

Sure enough he had been right to ignore the Hinkypunk as he found himself at the end of the assault course.

Nearby stood Remus beaming happily.

Harry took a breath and climbed into the old trunk in front of him to take care of the final task, a Boggart.

After just ten seconds Harry shouted "Ridiculous!" opened the trunk and stepped out.

The Boggart had been transformed into a rather fat clown wearing ridiculously oversized shoes.

Harry grinned as he saw his smiling Uncle tick Harry off of his list and write something down.

He knew for certain that he'd got at least an EE if not an O grade.

Harry moved to the side with the others who'd already taken the exam including Draco and Neville.

They watched as Ron whizzed round the course and seemed to be doing well until he rather unfortunately fell for the misleading directions from the Hinkypunk and fell into a pond.

suffice to say, Harry and the others teased him mercilessly for that for weeks afterwards.

The final one of their friends to take the exam was Hermione.

She managed everything perfectly including the Grindylows and Red Caps, until she reached the Boggart at the very end of the course.

She climbed into the trunk as everyone else had but jumped out moments later crying and shouting.

Harry learned later that her Boggart had turned into Professor McGonagall who had proceeded to tell her that she'd failed all of her exams.

It took Remus, Harry and the others ten minutes to calm her down and assure her that it was a Boggart and that she hadn't failed the exam.

After that she finished the exam well and Harry and the others applauded her.

* * *

The day after the final exam was Draco's Fourteenth birthday.

Harry and everyone else (except Luna) pretended that they had completely forgotten about it, not even giving him presents or wishing him a Happy Birthday.

He was led into the common that early that Saturday afternoon by Luna feeling totally miserable and was stunned when everyone leapt out and shouted "surprise!" at him.

Most of the students of Gryffindor were there along with a number of students from other Houses including Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Justin Finch Fletchley and Daphne Greengrass of Slytherin

Draco knew that despite her family having been Slytherins for centuries they didn't believe in the superiority of purebloods and had no problems mixing with non purebloods.

As it happened, her Father Mr Greengrass worked for the Ministry as head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and from what Draco knew did a good job.

He was even friends with Draco's own Dad and Uncles and often came to the Manor for dinner.

The party was a noisy affair and very fun.

There was music, Fred and George entertained everyone with a display of improvised joke products and there was much food.

He was touched when he found that Harry and the others had bought him a Firebolt broom.

Being that he was not on the main Quidditch team he was surprised to get such a gift but he was happy to get an upgrade on his Nimbus 2001.

* * *

The day after Draco's birthday was a very sad day for the New Marauders and if they were feeling sad he was sure it was nothing compared to their friend Hagrid.

It was the date of Buckbeaks execution an action wholly unjust in Harry's eyes as he had not been very badly hurt by the creature & in any case Buckbeak had not meant to hurt him.

He cursed that arrogant Nott for riling up the gentle proud creature, if he hadn't then this wouldn't be happening.

That evening at eight thirty, the New Marauders, or rather the five who could fit under the cloak, went down to Hagrids cabin to try to cheer him up and give him some moral support.

When they arrived Harry could hear the distinct sound of crying from within and was certain the others had all heard it too "it must be Hagrid" Harry said sadly.

Draco stepped up and knocked on the door for them all and then stood back.

For a few moments there was no reaction but then there was the sound of heavy boots clumping across the wooden floor to the door.

The door opened and the five of them came face to face with a red faced, puffy eyed Hagrid "H'llo" he said weakly "come in".

Harry could tell Buckbeaks execution had understandably got him very upset as he was usually a very cheerful person.

Once again cursed Nott and his family for doing this to his friend.

"Want tea?" Hagrid asked them all.

They nodded and Hagrid went over to the sink to fill up the kettle.

His hands shook so badly however that water began to spill everywhere.

Ron stood up, walked over to Hagrid and said gently "let me do it Hagrid" the red haired boy turned to Hermione and Neville "get him to a seat" he instructed.

The two of them went over to Hagrid and gently guided him into a chair situated at the table.

Once he was sat down they both hugged him, attempting to comfort him while Draco patted him on the shoulder.

Harry looked on sadly as he scratched Fang the boarhound behind the ears.

His thoughts turned to a way to free Buckbeak but no plan came to mind save for a mad dash to free the creature and escape through the trees and he knew it would be impossible to run far with such a creature before the Ministry personnel found them.

The five of them plus Hagrid and Fang sat in an uneasy silence drinking their tea and lost in their own thoughts.

Harry had just finished his tea when there came a sudden knock at the door.

Harry glanced down at his watch and mentally cursed himself. It was eight fifty five pm. Just five minutes until Buckbeaks execution, he looked at Hagrid sadly.

"Go all ye. I don' want ye seein this" the half-giant insisted as Harry knew he would.

Harry was about to argue the point but Draco grabbed his arm and with the help of the others hauled him out of the back door of the hut, down the steps and into the trees from where they watched as a solemn Minister for Magic Amelia Bones, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore and a man wearing an executioners hood and carrying a large axe, stood outside the front door of the cabin waiting to speak to Hagrid.

'No doubt' Harry thought 'so they can give him the documents pertaining to the execution.

At nine pm precisely four people emerged from the hut, the three who had come down earlier plus Hagrid.

If Harry knew his friend as well as he thought he did, he was sure that Hagrid wanted to say a last goodbye to the proud Buckbeak.

Harry watched along with Ron, Draco and Neville as the three men and one woman approached Buckbeak.

The Executioner raised his axe. Hermione cried out and hid her face in Ron's jumper not wanting to see the actual execution.

Harry glanced at Ron who in normal circumstances would have been startled at such a display but in this instance could only hug Hermione tightly with a solemn look on his freckled face.

The axe came up and swished down.

Buckbeaks head fell from his body. The proud beast was no more.

Harry saw and heard Hagrid cry out in distress.

Watched as the Minister said some words to the Executioner who left and then followed Headmaster Dumbledore inside the hut as the elderly wizard attempted to comfort his friend.

Harry felt sick about the whole thing.

What was more, he couldn't shake off his anger and hatred for the Minister.

He knew that she had only been acting in her duty as Minister of Magic and carrying out the hearing panels sentence but that didn't stop him being angry.

Solemnly he turned to the others and said quietly "lets go".

He threw the cloak over them all and they began to walk back up to the castle in silence.

Halfway across the grounds however, something very strange happened.

"Argh!" Ron cried out in pain.

Harry turned to his best friend looking concerned "what is it?" he asked.

Ron showed Harry his finger which had blood dripping from it and bite marks "he bit me!" Ron said in disbelief "Minky bit me!".

Before Harry could say or do anything his friend then shouted "Minky come back!" having evidently spotted the ferret running across the grounds.

Without warning Ron threw himself out from under the cloak and tore off after the animal.

Harry shook his head briefly unable to fathom why his friend would be so bothered by a pet he'd only had since September.

"We'd better get after him" he told the others and reluctantly took the cloak off himself in order to give chase, calling out "Ron come back! come back you idiot!".

They ran for a few minutes until, horror of horrors, Harry and the others could see the whomping willow nearby.

And Ron was heading straight for it still pursuing his pet "Harry that's the whomping willow!" Draco exclaimed unnecessarily.

"I know" Harry replied.

Turning back to Ron he bellowed "Ron look out!".

His friend paused in confusion and as he stood there staring at them, a branch swung down at him and knocked him flying.

Ron lay on the ground crying out in agony.

Harry was certain that he'd broken something.

He and the others ran towards Ron but were stopped in their tracks by the whomping willow which was in their way.

They dodged and ducked and dipped in an attempt to avoid the branches.

Harry managed to successfully but was unable to stop Neville and Draco being grasped by one of the branches.

They were flung about like rag dolls. Hermione cried out in horror while Harry tried to think what to do.

As he was thinking the tree flung Neville and Draco from it's grasp and the two of them flew through the air landing painfully near each other and Harry knew they'd been badly hurt.

Suddenly before Harry's horror struck eyes, the ferret that Ron had been chasing changed and in it's place was a man. The man was short, fat, bald and ugly.

It was a face Harry would recognise anywhere. It was Mundungus Fletcher.

"You coward!" Harry shouted at the man "you traitor!".

In response the man merely smirked as he grabbed an injured Ron and pulled him down through the roots of the tree and inside it "no!" Harry shouted an ran forward only to be pulled back by a distraught Hermione "Harry no!" she said firmly though he could tell she was upset "it's what he wants".

Harry calmed down slightly.

He was still angry but his friend was right.

All he'd accomplish by blindly charging in would be to fall into a trap.

Or at least that was his thought until he heard Ron cry out in pain.

His resolve to wait faltered and he found himself ignoring Hermione's shout of "stop! wait!" as he leapt towards the tree and slid under his branches.

To his great surprise and judging by her gasp, to Hermione's also, Crookshanks was beside Harry.

Harry was sure the cat was saying "let me" he pushed the thought aside as crazy only to be stunned when the orange fur ball touched the base of the tree on one of the roots and the vicious branches stood moving.

The tree was still and Harry could enter.

He beamed at the cat widely "Ron was right!" he exclaimed "you are really clever".

The cat purred happily in response to this compliment and stood back as Harry slid in through the hole at the tree's base.

He landed heavily but on his feet in what seemed to be a tunnel made of dirt and stone.

He heard a thud beside him and knew that Hermione had followed him.

He turned to her and nodded.

She raised her wand and murmured "Lumos".

The tunnel was illuminated before them.

As they began to walk Harry kept his wand at the ready for the least sign of danger.

"We must be moved under Hogwarts right now" Hermione remarked as they kept walking.

The tunnel was very long, seeming to stretch on interminably into the distance.

Indeed, they walked for so long that Harry thought they had to be under Hogsmeade by now.

Eventually, they found what looked like a door.

Harry was surprised by this development, pushing Hermione behind him he turned the handle.

The door opened and they stepped into the most rundown house he had ever seen in his life.

There was dust everywhere and cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and from the dilapidated furniture.

Harry knew that the house itself had been a normal house lain empty for a long time until used during his Uncle Remus' time at school for his werewolf transformations.

They found a staircase wide enough to walk two abreast and climbed it all the while looking around warily.

They tried the first door they found.

As they opened the door Harry could see the room was as dirty and rundown as the rest of the house.

Looking around he saw, lying on the bed, Ron.

Ron seemed to be in tremendous pain and was clutched at his leg and crying out.

"Ron!" Hermione gave a shout and ran to him.

Harry forgetting all about defence, took off across the room as well, anxious to make sure his friend was ok.

When they reached the bed Harry was about to speak only for Ron to gasp out "trap. It's a trap!".

Harry then heard a voice that turned his bloody to ice and chilled him to the bone "Harry Potter. I've been waiting for this day for twelve years".

As Harry turned around he heard "Expeliarmus!" and could only watch helplessly as his and Hermione's wands sailed out of their hands and landed in the outstretched hand of the traitor Mundungus Fletcher.

* * *

Authors Note: As this chapter has run to just over six thousand words already it would be too long to finish Third Year so I will instead write up another chapter to finish off Third Year which may include part of the summer as well.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Still don't own Harry Potter, still belongs to the wonderful JK Rowling.

* * *

Authors Note: This is **definitely **the last chapter for Third Year. Hope you enjoy and please don't forget if you did enjoy, to review. Thanks.

* * *

The Dog, Werewolf, Stag and Rat, Mundungus Fletcher & The Rescue

Sirius Black knew that something was seriously wrong when Remus firecalled him at the Manor where Sirius had been relaxing in the drawing room with a nice glass of firewhiskey.

When Remus said words he feared to hear "Harry and Draco are missing" the glass in Sirius' hand shattered violently causing little bits to become lodged under the skin and his hand to start bleeding.

Cursing loudly he stood up, waved his wand over his hand and murmured an incantation.

The glass flew out of his hand and the glass came back together.

Sirius healed his hand and then turned to the fireplace "what do you mean...missing?" he said sharply as a feeling of dread settled into the pit of his stomach.

Remus sighed "I don't know too much about it Padfoot. All I know is that Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione went down to Hagrids. That's what Ginny told me when I asked her why they weren't in the castle".

Sirius made a split second decision "I'll grab James and Peter and we'll meet you there" he said decisively.

Remus nodded and his head left the flames.

Sirius hurried into the kitchen where he knew James and the others were playing a game of Monopoly.

As he burst in, throwing the door open every eye turned to him, even the three House Elves who were bustling about.

Sirius swallowed and informed them "Harry and Draco are missing".

Lucy, Janice and Celia all let out gasps of shock.

James and Peter turned pale.

Even the House Elves were worried.

"Who told you this?" Peter asked as James seemed to have temporarily lost the ability to talk.

"Moony. He firecalled me just now, told me that Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione went down to Hagrids earlier to comfort him over Buckbeaks execution and haven't been seen since".

James banged his head on the table once and then stood up.

Grabbing his wand he said firmly and with a touch of hysteria "we're going. Now!".

Sirius didn't disagree with him and after a quick goodbye to their wives the three men headed for the drawing-room and flooed to Hogwarts.

When they arrived in Remus' office they found their brother pacing the room looking very upset about the whole situation.

James and Peter strode over to him.

He thought James would shout at Remus but he didn't. He merely pulled Remus into a hug which Peter joined in.

Sirius decided to join them making it a four person hug.

After they pulled apart Sirius decided to throw out words of comfort to his brother "it's not your fault Moony".

Remus however shook his head stubbornly "if I'd insisted on going with them...".

Sirius and the others wouldn't hear anything of this though and James said very logically "if you had gone with Moony, you'd most likely be in danger too and unable to let us know they were missing".

Sirius walked over to Remus' desk and picked up the original of the Marauders Map.

As he looked at the dots on it his face turned the colour of chalk. So pale had it become.

His mouth went dry and he just barely rasped out "Mundungus Fletcher".

Peter came over, followed by Remus and James.

The chunky wizard took the map from Sirius and began to examine it.

Sirius saw that he looked pale now as well "he's right. The dot right here confirms it".

Peter pointed to the Shrieking Shack "and he's not alone either" he said.

Remus took the map and looked at the dots "according to this..." he said in worry "Harry, Ron and Hermione are all in the shack with him and judging by the way he's moving around they must have been disarmed or...or..." Remus couldn't finish the sentence.

"We need to go now!" James shouted as he made for the door clearly in a blind panic and fearful for the children.

Sirius was not a second behind him "wait!" Remus called out.

Sirius turned around as did James "we need more help. I'll call on Severus" he said.

It was agreed and after fifteen anxious minutes Remus returned with Severus who looked equally as concerned but was managing to at least be calm.

The five of them headed out into the grounds and made their way to the whomping willow.

It took much time to get there and when they did Sirius saw to his absolute dismay that Draco and Neville were both on the ground, lying motionless near a stone wall.

If it hadn't been for the steady rise and fall of their chests he would have been convinced they were dead.

Severus rushed over to help them knowing as he did a lot about healing magic.

"I'll take the boys back up to the castle" he declared "you four take care of that ferret and save the others".

This was acceptable to Sirius and the other Marauders who all thanked Severus before heading through the gap at the base of the tree and into the dark tunnel.

As they moved along James said keep your wands at the ready "you never know what we might find, there might be more than one".

After much walking they reached the door that lead into the Shrieking Shack.

James went first wand at the ready and was followed closely by Sirius, then Remus and finally Peter.

A quick search of the downstairs had them concluding that no one was there so they swiftly made their way upstairs walking two abreast with James and Sirius in the lead.

As they reached the first room they came to, they could hearing shouting "you bloody traitor! you betrayed everyone!. All your friends!. Why?".

They heard the cold response "foolish boy. I was offered power beyond imagining. As the right hand of the Dark Lord. Do you really think I'd turn it down for...friendship?".

Sirius watched as James' face seemed to be literally boiling in fury.

With a bellow of rage James kicked the door in.

* * *

Harry was feeling scared. But right now that was not the feeling that was powering him.

Right now all he felt was an overwhelming rage.

Rage at the man standing in front of him, if he could even be called a man.

Rage for the betrayal done to his parents, the betrayal to the Order and for what he had done to Ron.

Right now all Harry wanted to do was cross the room and strangle this evil turd before he could ruin any more lives.

He tried to keep himself calm but the Deatheater managed to rile him up with his next words "I'll kill you first boy!" the man cackled loudly.

It seemed that if he hadn't been mad before then Azkaban had certainly made him that way "and when I'm done with you I'll kill your friends slowly and painfully".

"No!" Harry shouted.

He moved to shield his friends but Hermione moved to his side and said defiantly "if you want to kill Harry then you have to go through me!".

Harry heard movement behind him and saw Ron hobble up next to him, his mask a grimace of pain "and me arsehole!".

While Harry felt immense gratitude for the loyalty his friends were showing him he knew that Fletcher would carry out his threat without hesitation.

"In that case I'll deal with you two first!" the mad wizard said gleefully.

He cackled as he aimed his wand at Ron.

"Hermione, grab him!" Harry yelled.

Hermione dived and pushed Ron to the floor as a bolt of green light shot from Fletcher's wand.

The Deatheater cursed furiously "stay still!" he roared at them.

As Fletcher aimed at his friends again Harry felt the mist descend. He knew he had to do something and quick.

Without thinking he sprinted as hard and fast as he could across the room, leapt in the air and jumped at Fletcher.

The surprise was such that Fletcher was knocked to the ground and dropped the captured wand he'd been using.

Harry punched him and made a grab for his wand that had fallen out of the mans pocket.

However he felt strong hands wrap around his throat, choking him trying to kill him.

In desperation he launched the elbow of his right arm backwards aiming it at Fletcher's nose.

He felt satisfaction when he heard a crunching sound that indicated the nose had been broken.

Feeling relieved as the Deatheater howled in pain he pulled himself from the man's grasp, seized his wand and aimed it at him.

The fallen Deatheater was howling in pain, grabbed his stolen wand and used it to repair his nose.

"I'm taking you up to the castle!" Harry shouted.

He threw a stunner at the evil wizard.

To his anger, Fletcher ducked, rolled and fired back.

Harry ducked and the two exchanged wand fire for a few more minutes until it was a stalemate.

They circled each other until Harry found himself in front of Ron and Hermione who were watching on in alarm.

"You bloody traitor!" Harry shouted "you betrayed everyone!. All your friends!. Why?".

To his fury the Deatheater laughed cruelly "you foolish boy. I was offered power beyond imagining as the right hand of the Dark Lord. Do you really think I'd turn it down for...friendship?" he practically spat the last word out, so venomous was his response.

It was as if the idea of friendship was abhorrent to this excuse for a human being.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

One moment the door was there and the next...it was gone!.

As the dust settled Harry saw his Father, followed by his Godfather Sirius and Uncles Peter and Remus.

All of them entered with their wands out ready to curse Fletcher into the next century.

Sensing he couldn't escape through the door, Fletcher transformed into a ferret and made a bee line for the ferret sized hole in the wall.

He had just reached the hole and was sneaking through it when Harry's Dad roared out a spell and Fletcher found himself back in his human form and stuck in the hole, unable to move.

Peter and Remus who were the most calm dragged the Deatheater from the hole and stood him on his feet.

As they moved to rejoin James and Sirius, the cowardly wizard quaked in fear.

"Shall we kill him together?" Sirius asked.

Peter and James nodded and Remus answered rather calmly "oh yes, I think so".

The four men aimed their wands directly at the Deatheater and prepared to kill him.

"No!" Harry shouted standing in their line of fire.

Harry could see the look of anger on his Fathers face give way to incredulity at the situation.

"Harry get out of the way" his Father said calmly.

"No!" Harry refused.

"Harry" Sirius said with gritted teeth "he's a traitor and deserves to die. Stand aside".

Harry shook his head stubbornly.

"Why for god sake!?" Peter shouted in frustration and confusion.

The other Marauders also looked confused by this turn of events.

Harry sighed "I don't think my birth Mum or Mother would want you to become a murderer Dad" he said calmly though tears formed in his eyes "and I doubt Aunt Celia or Aunt Janice want that for you two either Padfoot and Wormtail" he said.

Turning to Moony he said "and you Moony, what about Tonks?".

Remus grimaced "what would she think if you murdered someone in cold blood? would she still want to date you?".

Remus shook his head dejectedly and was the first to lower his wand, followed closely by his Uncle Peter.

His Dad and Sirius thought still kept their wands trained on Fletcher "oh thank you! kind boy!" the Deatheater simpered.

Harry looked at the man in absolute disgust "I'm not doing it for you!" he said angrily "I'm doing it for my family. I don't want them to get in trouble or feel guilt for the likes of you!".

Fletcher grabbed at Ron "kind boy!" he wailed "save me! save me! I was a good pet to you!".

Ron shook him off in disgust and anger "not only were you spying, you wanted to kill us!" he shouted at the man "get away from me!".

Hermione put arm around Ron's shoulder and glared the evil wizard.

Out of options Fletcher tried to run only to be hit in the back of the head and lose consciousness.

"What do we do with him then?" Hermione said.

Harry answered before anyone else "we take him up to the castle. The Dementors can have him" he said coldly.

As the group made their way from the room and through the house to the tunnel his Dad spoke to him "I'm proud of you Son. You saved our spirits and our consciences".

"He's right Harry" Sirius chimed in casting a glare at the unconscious Fletcher "I doubt the Ministry would be happy at extrajudicial murder and not having the chance to question the ferret".

Harry smiled a little.

James ruffled his Son's hair.

After much walking the group finally emerged from the long tunnel and walked out from the gap in the whomping willow.

James saw that it was dark and glanced at his watch. It read 11.02 pm.

Hermione and Peter set Ron down on a nearby rock and were busy tending to him while Sirius and Harry kept watch on Fletcher.

A voice nearby shouted in panic "Remus!".

A figure emerged from the hillside, black cloak billowing out behind him.

It was Severus and he looked very distressed.

As he drew level with the group of wizards he wheezed out "Remus you forgot to take your potion!".

Remus turned to Severus his face looking horrified.

Harry looked at the moon as did everyone else.

It was full and in the light of said moon, Remus began to transform into a werewolf.

Harry had never seen it happen before and was shocked and upset at how painful it was for Remus.

As Remus' clothes began to tear and Remus' body began to grow larger and hairier another thought struck Harry 'we're all in terrible danger'.

He knew enough about werewolves who transformed without the Wolfsbane potion to know that they were dangerous.

He hoped his Father and the other Marauders could calm Remus down but he was by no means certain they'd succeed.

He watched as his Godfather abandoned his watch on Fletcher and ran to Remus, grasping him by the shoulders he shouted "Remus old friend! my brother! remember who you are! you are a man not a beast! remember!".

The words had no effect on the werewolf which looked towards Harry and co like they were a late night snack.

Harry gulped and prepared to defend himself reluctantly.

Remus began to bound towards him only for Harry's Dad and Uncles to transform and battle the larger creature.

The battle was brutal as the other three Marauders tried to keep him in check.

"Harry!" Hermione shouted.

Harry glanced over at her and saw she was pointing at something.

He looked over near the whomping willow and saw to his dismay that Fletcher was transforming into a ferret.

The evil wizard gave one last cheerful wave before shrinking down and running away as his clothes hit the grass.

"No!" Harry yelled in frustration.

He made to run after the Deatheater only for Hermione to pull him back.

He realised that he was far too close to his family battling each other and had to be yanked back by a terrified Hermione.

He watched on feeling upset as his Dad and Uncles tried to contain Remus.

They managed to do so, wounding Remus enough that the Werewolf ran off into the trees no doubt to recover.

He saw his Dad and Uncles limp off after Remus.

And without a seconds hesitation follow them.

Hermione reluctantly followed on as well as they raced down the hill and through the trees.

On and on they ran until they reached a lake in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

Harry looked on in horror as he saw his Uncles and Dad wounded and exhausted lying on the edge of the lake.

He rushed to them with Hermione just behind.

"Dad I'm so glad you're alright!" he exclaimed as he threw his arms around his Dad's neck and hugged him tightly.

His Dad returned the hug and said "don't worry about us. Get back to the castle and get us help" he told Harry.

Harry nodded and was about to do so.

As he and Hermione went to leave the Forest the weather suddenly turned very cold around them.

An intense chill crept into Harry's bones and fear gripped his heart.

He knew what was happening. It was not a normal cold. It was a cold brought upon by the dark creatures called Dementors.

His fears were confirmed as his Uncle Peter sank to his knees screaming.

His Father followed next, no doubt consumed by the horrors of the attack in Godric's Hollow and the deaths of his wife Harry's birth Mother and his Fathers Parents.

Harry stared around himself in horror at what was happening as the Dementors appeared circling the group.

Making a snap decision Harry flicked his wand into his hand and aimed at the dark creatures.

Hermione and Sirius did the same and the three shouted at the same time "Expecto Patronum!".

Harry felt frustrated as only Sirius managed to produce a full Patronus which temporarily held the Dementors off.

The Dementors began to circle again after a short while and Sirius gave up the ghost, giving into his own horrific memories, no doubt his childhood at 12 Grimmauld Place and his Brother.

Harry and Hermione shouted again "Expecto Patronum!".

Once again they failed.

Hermione sank to her knees shivering and glassy eyed.

The Dementors circled and began to suck at their faces trying to pull out their souls.

"Nooooooo!" Harry bellowed in a guttural scream of rage, frustration and despair.

He pointed his wand and bellowed "Expecto Patronum!".

This time a brilliant silvery white stag burst from his wand and chased down the Dementors who were driven back.

Just as Harry began to fade, his energy sapped, a miracle happened, Harry saw a blinding light, silvery white stag raced across the pond and chased the Dementors away.

As Harry gazed through fogged up glasses he saw...no it couldn't be.

He saw himself.

His last thought as he fainted was that he must have gone completely mad.

* * *

Harry awoke to darkness.

He had no idea what time it was and for a moment he stared around wildly as he struggled to recognise where he was.

He soon realised that he was, thankfully and incredibly, in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.

He sat up and looked around at the various other beds and could see that Draco and his Dad were lying in the beds nearest him while Hermione, Ron, Neville, Sirius and Peter were on the other side of the ward.

Hermione caught his eye and walked over to his bed.

She sat down on the end of it near him and he hugged her "are you alright?" he asked softly.

Hermione nodded and smiled weakly "I'm fine now. Madam Pomfrey gave me some chocolate".

Harry smiled.

The Hospital Wing doors opened and in strode Headmaster Dumbledore.

He approached Harry's bed.

"Headmaster" Harry said standing up.

The old wizard put his hand up "no need Harry you may sit".

The old wizard sat himself and said "you have until midnight. If you are successful you will save more than one life tonight".

He turned to Hermione "three turns should do it Miss Granger" he then stood up, turned on his heel and strode from the Hospital Wing.

Ron had woken up and was staring over at them in confusion at the conversation "what was that about?" he asked them.

Hermione gave him a pitying look.

She grabbed Harry's hand and hauled him to his feet, she pulled him to the centre of the room, took out a chain with what appeared to be a medallion on the end.

She looked at Ron "I'd bring you if you were fit Ron but you are too hurt" she said "I'm sorry".

Ron gaped at her in confusion.

Hermione grabbed Harry's hand, turned the medallion three times and Harry was shocked to see that time appeared to be moving rapidly.

When time had stopped moving Harry stared about feeling disoriented and perplexed "Hermione what..." he began to ask.

Hermione cut him off "we'll talk on the way. Come on!".

She pulled him to the doors and out of the Hospital Wing.

As they reached the front doors of the castle several students walked by and Hermione pulled Harry into an alcove to hide.

Once the students had passed they exited the castle and turning left began to run across the grounds towards Hagrids cabin.

Halfway down the sloping lawns Harry pulled Hermione to a stop "I want to know what's happening. Now" he insisted firmly.

Hermione sighed "there's not enough time to go into all the details but I have a time turner" she patted the thing that had moved them back in time "we've gone back in time by three hours to save Buckbeak" she told him.

Harry was floored by these words.

Before he had time to properly digest them and their meaning he was being pulled down the lawns towards Hagrids cabin.

They stood in the woods behind a tree and saw themselves sitting in Hagrids hut talking with him.

They ran over to the vegetable patch where Hagrid had tethered Buckbeak.

The proud creature looked very sad and Harry and Hermione quickly set to work unhooking the rope from it's post.

They succeeded but Buckbeak wouldn't go with them. The animal remained stubbornly in place among the vegetables.

Harry had a flash of inspiration, he seized a bucket containing some dead rats and waved one in front of Buckbeak, knowing it was his favourite food.

Sure enough the bait worked as Buckbeak began to move with them back towards the tree line.

Once they had got him out of sight Harry worked to quiet him down while Hermione looked at the scene in the hut.

"We're not leaving" she said biting her lip.

Harry saw the Minister for Magic, Professor Dumbledore and the Executioner all walking down the path to Hagrids cabin.

He felt worried.

Hermione grabbed a stone and threw it as hard as she could through the open window.

The stone hit the other Harry in the back of the head "ow!" Harry exclaimed in annoyance as he rubbed his head.

"Sorry" Hermione said not sounding sorry at all.

She picked up another stone and threw it just as the three wizards reached the cabin door.

The stone shattered a pot that stood on the table causing Hagrid to frown at it.

The knock at the door came and Hagrid shooed the three of them out.

As Harry and Hermione saw the other Harry and Hermione plus Ron heading away from the cabin they left themselves.

As they walked through the grounds Harry asked "where are we going Hermione?".

His friend paused for a moment and replied "we're taking Buckbeak to a friend who will keep him safe".

Harry could accept that response.

He had no doubt Hermione and Dumbledore knew what they were doing.

They were after all two of the smartest magical people he knew.

After they had walked for a while Harry fell into his own thoughts and was only broken out of them by a voice saying "wotcher Harry, Hermione!".

Harry looked up and blinked.

A woman with black hair and green eyes was staring at him.

"Who are..." he began to say and then grinned in relief "Tonks!" he said happily.

She hugged him and Hermione "so you're the friend Hermione was on about" he said.

Tonks grinned "that's me!" she said brightly "I'm to take this fella here" she patted Buckbeak softly "to a safe place and look after him".

Harry felt very happy about that.

He knew his Godfathers Cousin to be very trustworthy and a kind hearted person, the right sort to take care of such a gentle creature.

Harry and Hermione handed the rope to Tonks who took it off, mounted the creature, waved to them and flew off squealing in delight.

Once they were gone from sight Harry checked his watch. It said ten pm which meant they had around an hour until their earlier selves emerged from the whomping willow.

They headed up to the tree and hid in a secluded spot to watch everything that happened.

at around eleven pm they saw themselves and others emerging from the whomping willow together with the ferret Mundungus Fletcher.

They watched as Severus arrived and delivered the news that Remus had forgotten to take his potion.

Remus had transformed into an out of control werewolf and Harry's Dad and other two Uncles had been forced to fight him to keep the others safe.

Fletcher had escaped and Harry's Dad and Uncles had been wounded.

Once they saw their earlier selves following his Dad and Uncles down the hill and through the tree's, he and Hermione followed on after them.

They found the same scene from earlier. Harry greeted his family and he and Hermione tried to leave to get help only for Dementors to swoop down.

It was even more awful to watch it happening from afar than it had felt to experience it Harry thought.

As he and Hermione waited for the miracle, namely himself or someone looking like him to arrive, nothing happened.

Harry sank to his knees on the edge of the lake looking drained.

Finally it dawned on Harry. It wasn't a version of him from some other reality or timeline. It was him as he was now, from the near future.

That's what he had seen and that's what needed to save his earlier self now!.

Flicking his wand from it's concealed holster he took aim at the circling Dementors and summoning up all the rage he could and the happiest memory he possessed he bellowed "Expecto Patronum!".

A beautiful silvery white stag burst from his wand, bowed to him and raced off across the lake scattering the Dementors.

Harry watched on as help arrived in the forms of John Dawlish, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Professor Dumbledore amongst others.

The unconscious people on the lake were taken away and the Dementors sent packing.

Harry and Hermione ran back up to the castle feeling like they had done well.

The journey back up to the castle was long and then only just arrived on the stroke of midnight.

As they entered the Hospital Wing their earlier selves vanished and the timeline was not damaged.

They stood in the centre of the room.

Professor Dumbledore came in smiling "Professor we did it!" Harry said happily.

"Did what?" the Professor replied with a grin before striding out.

Their happiness was interrupted by muttering "you...you...how...I saw...you were on...and...how?" Ron mumbled in total confusion.

In order to assure Ron that he was not going crazy Harry walked over to his bed and said "we'll explain in the morning, get some rest".

Ron seemed mollified by this and soon fell asleep.

As Harry returned to his bed and did the same he felt like it had been a very weird day.

His attempt to sleep was ruined by the Executioner bursting irately into the Hospital Wing "where's the beast?" he shouted "I saw him outside the hut! he must be somewhere!".

Madam Pomfrey arrived as did Professor Dumbledore and Minister Bones who looked shocked and angry at the mans outburst "calm yourself man!" she said sharply.

"Yes indeed!" said the angry voice of Madam Pomfrey "this is a Hospital Wing I must insist that anyone who is not a patient leaves immediately!".

The Minister apologised for her rude employee profusely "I am so terribly sorry for this Madam Pomfrey you have my assurance we are leaving" the Minister looked sharply at the Executioner "come with me now my good man or you will find yourself on probation!".

The Executioner was angry but complied reluctantly and Harry finally managed to get some proper sleep.

* * *

The next two weeks went by quickly.

The horror of the events of the sixth of June stayed with Harry and he was sure it had stayed with all of them.

It wasn't something that could be quickly forgotten.

The last day of term came and went. The students and professors were due to leave Hogwarts the next morning and had one last day at the school to enjoy before their summer and a mountain of homework they had been set.

Harry decided to head to Remus' office to speak to him about what Remus had planned for next years curriculum and to see if he could wheedle out of his Uncle what his grade had been.

He was in a happy mood when he reached the DADA classroom.

As he raised his fist to knock on the door he could hear much movement from within and frowned in puzzlement.

He opened the door and to his great surprise saw numerous objects moving across the room towards the Defence teachers office.

Ducking under some of them he headed up the steps and into the comfortable room.

His feelings of puzzlement increased when he noted that the items being packed away were everything that Remus had brought with him at the start of the school year.

He didn't understand why his Uncle would be taking so much when he'd been back in September anyway.

Then the truth hit him.

He took one look at his Uncle.

He looked tired, careworn.

He looked beaten.

"Please tell me you haven't resigned" Harry said by way of a greeting.

Remus lowered all of the objects in flight and turned around to face him.

His face looked sombre.

It was the face he got when he decided to something for the good of others "I could have killed you last night Harry" his Uncle said quietly.

He sat down on his desk chair "any of you could have died. Your Dad and Uncles were hurt badly by what I did".

Harry jumped in "that wasn't your fault. It was bad luck. You'd never hurt them usually!" Harry said.

Remus shook his head "that doesn't make it alright. I was careless, I forgot to take my potion and I'm a danger as a teacher. At least at the Manor we have a dedicated room I can be kept in if I forget the potion".

"But no one else know's you're a werewolf do they?" Harry asked.

Remus shook his head but then declared "it doesn't matter anyway. All it takes is one student to learn the truth, tell their Parents and everyone will know. Then the angry letters will start arriving. I'll not put the Headmaster through that after he was kind enough to employ me".

"But you're the best DADA teacher we've ever had!" Harry exclaimed desperately.

Remus smiled sadly "that's kind of you to say Harry but I'm sure whoever Dumbledore hires next year will be better than me".

"Doubt it" Harry muttered.

He hugged his Uncle and asked "what will you do now?".

"Well there's always the shop" Remus replied "and I promised to teach you some more defensive magic this summer didn't I".

Harry grinned as he remembered Remus's promise "I'll look forward to it" he said.

His face fell "I bet Mum grounds me again".

Remus shook his head "I doubt it. You're a hero Harry. Your Dad, Wormtail and Padfoot have all told her how you saved them and Hermione a few weeks ago".

When Harry got back to the common room he felt numb.

He couldn't believe that their best ever DADA teacher was leaving.

God knows who Dumbledore would employ in his place considering almost no one wanted the position "Harry what's the matter?" Ginny asked softly.

She came and sat down on the sofa next to him his other friends and brother looked at him in concern.

He swallowed hard "Moony's leaving" he announced.

None of them could believe it "must be a joke surely" Ron said smirking.

Harry shook his head sadly "no. It's not a joke. He thinks he's too dangerous and that people wouldn't want a..." Harry looked round "a werewolf teaching their kids".

"But that's rubbish!" Draco exclaimed.

"Yeah he's an amazing teacher!" Neville chimed in.

"The best we've ever had" Hermione declared.

Harry nodded "I tried telling him all that but he wouldn't listen I'm afraid and he won't change his mind".

"But what will he do now?" Ron asked.

Harry smiled "he said he's always got the shop".

* * *

That night the leaving feast took place and Gryffindor had once again won the House Cup which was presented to them by a smiling Albus Dumbledore.

Remus winked at Harry and Hagrid gave him the thumbs up causing Harry to grin and laugh.

It had been very weird year in Harry's opinion.

Even more weird than the last two years combined.

One bright spot as Dumbledore announced it was that the Dementors were to leave Hogwarts and return to the prison fortress of Azkaban and never return to the school, an announcement that caused cheering and applause from all, even Theodore Nott seemed relieved about it.

Harry was still angry though.

The man who had betrayed his Family and the Order of The Phoenix had escaped justice.

God alone knew where he was hiding out to now.

Harry could only hope that Fletcher would be caught one day.

* * *

The next morning afternoon on the Hogwarts Express Harry had been mulling over something in his mind.

It was a question.

Where the hell did Hermione get a time turner from?.

As far as Harry knew only the Ministry of Magic possessed them and their use was strictly prohibited by most.

He decided to voice this question to Hermione who sat across from him in lively conversation with Draco over their exam grades "Hermione?".

Hermione looked at him "yes Harry?" she said.

"Where did you get a time turner from?" he asked her.

Hermione sighed as everyone else in the compartment looked at her "you have a time turner?" Draco said in confusion.

Hermione sighed again and nodded "I suppose it won't do any harm to tell you all now" she said "when Professor McGonagall heard that I wanted to take all five electives this year she said I would need one and to not reveal to anyone that I had it".

"Where is it?" Neville burst out excitedly "can we see it?".

Hermione smiled and shook her head "I handed it back to her yesterday and as far as I know she's returned it to the Ministry" Hermione told Neville.

Neville looked disappointed "hang on a minute!" Ron shouted.

Everyone jumped and stared at him "so that's how you were able to be in two places at once!" he said.

Hermione nodded "but you said I must be imagining it!" Ron shouted indignantly.

Hermione had the good grace to look sorry "I'm sorry about that Ron but I couldn't tell anyone" she said.

Ron fell silent and Luna remarked "that's why you were so grumpy for most of the year" she said brightly.

Hermione laughed loudly at this "yes Luna that's right" she said.

The entire compartment burst into laughter at this.

"But without the time turner what will you do next year?" Harry asked her.

Hermione grinned "to tell you the truth I was getting far too frazzled flitting through time and keeping up with work in twelve different subjects so I've ditched Muggle Studies and officially ditched Divination" she told them all "from next year I'll only be taking the seven core subjects plus Care of Magic Creatures, Arithmancy and Ancient Runes".

The serious talk out of the way the teenagers turned to talking about their grades, the summer and most important of all who would win the Quidditch World Cup, the final of which they were all attending in August.

The lively discussions took up the rest of the journey and left Harry feeling happier as he had something to distract from the events of the sixth of June.

* * *

So everyone that is Third Year finished completely. Hope you enjoyed my take on it.

We now move on to the summer in the next chapter which will contain the Quidditch World Cup Final, Harry's nightmare, a short section with Mad Eye Moody and will finish up depending on how the write up goes with the opening feast.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the sole owner of the Potter Universe

* * *

Authors Note: This chapter will cover the whole of the summer before Fourth Year

* * *

Chapter Twenty Six: Birthdays and the Quidditch World Cup

The summer of 1994 was blisteringly hot and the first month of it seemed to fly by as Harry, Draco and the rest of the New Marauders spent their time working on homework, playing Quidditch and just generally hanging out talking, listening to music and watching films.

Harry for his part had been spurred on to get his summer homework out of the way almost as soon as he got home from Hogwarts.

The reason for this eagerness to do homework which he had never had before was all down to the fact that Harry, his Dad, Draco, Sirius, Peter, Remus, Molly, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Mr Weasley along with Ron and Ginny's older Brothers were all going to the Quidditch World Cup on tickets that his Dad and Mr Weasley had managed to wrangle from the Head of Magical Games and Sports.

He had also been excited to learn that Neville was coming along with his Parents as they were major Quidditch fans.

His Brother David had wanted to come as well but his Mum and Aunts had insisted he was too young.

He recalled that the refusal had caused his Brother to shut himself in his room for the rest of the day sulking, until dinner that is.

At this precise moment in time Harry was waiting, gift in hand, for his family who always seemed to take forever to get ready.

They were all heading off to his friend Neville's fourteenth birthday party.

Harry had always found it a bit mad how he was attending his friends party on one day and then the next day Neville came to the Manor for his.

He had heard the words of the prophecy which he had told Neville along with the others.

According to his Father the prophecy could have referred to Neville rather than him and it was only the chance of Voldemort having attacked the Potters instead that sealed the prophecy as being about himself.

"Come on guys! hurry up!" Harry shouted in frustration, tapping his foot impatiently.

His Dad, Draco and Sirius were the next to appear, all were looking rather flustered in their suits.

Harry smirked. He didn't mind wearing a suit if the occasion called for it.

"James Potter come back here!" a sharp voice said and his Mum Lucy entered the room wearing her best blue party dress, her long flowing red hair tied back in a bun.

Harry noted that she was wielding a comb. He also noted the grimace on his Dad's face "Lulu love, leave it please" his Dad begged.

His Mum was having none of it though. She crossed the room in a few determined strides, grabbed his Fathers head and began to comb his hair.

His Dad scowled when it had been done.

Harry guffawed loudly.

The hair looked worse than it had when Mum started.

He realised in a second that he shouldn't have laughed as his Mum clapped eyes on him "yours needs combing too young man" she said as she walked over to him.

Harry tried to run but his Dad, Sirius and Draco blocked his retreated.

Harry gave up and let his Mother comb his hair and when she was done it looked just as bad as it had before with tufts sticking up everywhere.

He flattened it down grumbling making sure to cover his scar as much as possible.

His Mother left the room, returning moments later with several presents.

Next to arrive were Janice and Celia who had made much effort in getting ready and David who complained loudly at having to wear a suit.

Molly arrived last of all wearing short summer dress and heels.

Their Mother demanded that she change out of the heels and into flat shoes at once.

His Sister scowled but complied and soon they were all ready to leave for the Manor.

Deciding it would be the easiest, they went in two's as they used the floo.

Lucy and Molly went first, followed by Sirius and Peter, followed by Remus and his Dad, then Harry and Draco went through to be followed by Janice and David.

For a short while everything seemed to be spinning around them and then their feet touched solid stone.

Harry poked his head out and grinned.

They were definitely in the fireplace of Longbottom Manor.

He could tell by casting a look over at the moving portraits on the far wall that showed Neville and his Parents in various situations.

Harry and Draco stepped out and used their wands to dust themselves down.

A chirpy voice greeted them "Harry!, Draco!, so glad you guys could make it this early!" Neville said happily.

The three friends waited for Janice and David to come through, Neville greeted them warmly and Janice took David off to meet some people despite David wanting to stay and hear their talk on the Quidditch World Cup "so who do you think's going to win then Nev?" Harry asked.

Neville took a bit of time to answer "I'd say Ireland will but I think Bulgaria have a chance".

"That's no answer!" scoffed Draco.

Neville grinned and shrugged "what can I say dear friend I am no betting man" he said.

Draco knew this was a reference to his betting that his and Harry's favourite team the Wimbourne Wasps would beat the Hollyhead Harpies, Neville's favourite team last year had backfired last year and he had lost ten galleons.

His Parents were furious when they found out he'd gambled and forbid him to do so again.

"Are you mad?" came a voice from nearby.

Ron appeared in Harry's line of vision and plonked himself down "Bulgaria have Krum! he's the best Seeker in the world!".

Harry quirked an eyebrow up at this statement. Not because he was annoyed, more because he wanted Ron to get flustered "err...I mean...you're really good too Harry".

Harry rolled his eyes and laughed "it's ok Ron. I know I'm not international level yet".

"He's been going on about Krum all day" said a clearly fed up voice and Harry's girlfriend Ginny appeared beside him rolling her eyes.

She sat down next to him and he gave her a peck on the cheek which she returned.

They hugged and then Ginny said "I can't believe you think Bulgaria will win Ron".

"What's so ludicrous about it?" Ron asked hotly.

Ginny sniggered "because dearest Brother, Ireland have Troy, Mullet and Moran, the best Chaser trio in the world right now".

"I agree with Ginny" chimed in Molly who'd sidled over "Krum would need to catch the snitch immediately to win things for Bulgaria. The rest of their team is lousy".

"I don't think Krum will catch the snitch at all" declared another familiar voice as Hermione appeared.

Ron snorted "of course he will".

"How can you be sure?" Hermione demanded.

Ron laughed and said simply "because he's Krum".

Everyone rolled their eyes at this weak argument.

Ever since Victor Krum had burst onto the international scene two years ago Ron had been obsessed with him.

Eventually the party properly got going.

First of all Neville opened all his presents which included a new broom from his Parents, a broom servicing kit from his formidable Gran, a new book on Herbology complete with illustrations from Harry's Mum and Dad and a wand holster from Harry and Draco.

He seemed to be pleased with all of his presents and thanked everyone profusely.

The early afternoon was spent at the Manor's Quidditch pitch playing games of Quidditch and broomstick tag.

At five o clock they all returned to the Manor for a buffet and disco which went on until twelve am though Harry's Aunt Janice left with David before then and Harry's Mum dragged a protesting Molly away at eleven.

* * *

Harry's birthday the next day was even more fun for Harry.

In the morning everyone gathered at the Manor as he opened his presents and then the whole group of party guests went to a place called Lazerage in Bristol and everyone got the chance to go around shooting each other with mock lazers.

They played many games of capture the flag and tag.

Harry was amused to see how much his Dad and all of his Uncles were enjoying it.

Even Hagrid and Severus were having lots of fun especially with the capture the flag game.

In the evening they headed back to the Manor and had a barbecue in the large garden of the Manor under a miraculously sunny and blue sky.

The younger guests played Quidditch and took turns playing Harry, Draco and Molly's joint games console including everyone having goes on Sonic 1 to see if they could beat each others score.

For some of them this was the first time they had played on a games console before.

Dean Thomas did very well which he explained was due to playing Sonic 1 a lot at home.

That night Harry had a sleepover which included all of the New Marauders plus Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan.

They all slept in the drawing room as there was not enough room in the bedrooms and spent the night talking about the Quidditch World Cup and some of them the Football World Cup which Harry noted miserably didn't have an England team featured as their team had been dismal in qualifying.

They also watched all of the Star Wars films back to back and ate popcorn and drank hot chocolate.

As Harry settled down in his sleeping bag that night he viewed it as one of the best birthday's he'd had so far and he'd had a lot of them!.

* * *

The first week and a half of August went by in the blink of an eye and it was already the eleventh of August and his girlfriend Ginny's thirteenth birthday party.

Harry had been so nervous over whether she would like his present that he had got up at the crack of dawn and gone for jog all around the grounds in an effort to calm himself.

It didn't work and he felt so nervous through breakfast that he only managed a piece of toast with a bit of butter on it.

"I'm sure Ginny will love your present Harry" Draco said correctly guessing why Harry seemed so tense.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"No doubt about it" his Brother answered clapping him on the shoulder.

Once the family were all ready and assembled they flooed to The Burrow and were greeted warmly by the Weasley's while Ginny kissed Harry on the lips.

She only did so briefly however as her Parents and Brothers were all looking on.

Harry noted with so trepidation, the look he was getting from Ron, Fred, George, Percy, Charlie and Bill.

He had a feeling that before the day was out they would be cornering him to find out his intentions regarding Ginny.

He felt no nerves about it.

He'd simply tell them the truth. He loved Ginny and would do anything to make her happy.

Sure enough, Harry's calculation proved correct as he went upstairs to wash his hands he was waylaid and dragged into the room shared by Fred and George.

The door was closed and the room soundproofed.

Harry was sat down on a chair and a voice he recognised as Ron's said "so you and Ginny, what are your plans?".

"Well nothing much right now" he replied.

Bill looked at him balefully "answer the question" he said.

Harry decided to be earnest "look, I love your Sister and I'm fairly certain she loves me. I want to be her boyfriend and make her happy".

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Charlie asked succinctly.

Harry had his answer ready "I swear on the lives of my family that I will never dishonour her" he said.

"And do you swear to keep her safe to the best of your ability and let her go if she decides it's over?" Fred asked.

Harry was willing to swear to the first without hesitation but the second one tied his stomach in painful knots.

He knew he wouldn't be able to bear it if a time ever came when Ginny broke up with him.

He swallowed. His mouth felt dry. He replied "I swear on my life that I will keep Ginny safe and abide by her wishes".

Very suddenly the faces of the Weasley Brothers changed.

They went from grim expressions to smiles and laughter "I told you we could trust him with Ginny" Ron told them happily.

He clapped Harry on the back and laughed heartily as did the others.

After a moment Harry joined in himself.

The most nervous moment of the day came when Harry (who had never bought such a gift before) present his present to Ginny.

She opened the long package and pulled out a long red dress with sequins attached.

She gasped and for a moment Harry feared she hated it, but then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed all over his face in happiness murmuring "oh thank you. Thank you!".

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and pecked her lightly on the lips mindful to do no more.

* * *

Harry was moving through a house.

It looked very old and deserted.

He felt he should recognise the place.

Felt that he had been there before somehow but he couldn't place it.

He moved through the hallway of the house and up the stairs.

He moved along the landing. He heard voices coming from the second door along.

He kept walking and found himself in front of the door.

He peered in through the keyhole and saw a man kneeling before a large comfortable armchair.

The man was quite young. Harry couldn't guess an age but possibly early thirties.

He had quite short hair, dark blonde. He was wearing a leather coat and had a reverential look on his face.

"How goes our plan?" a high cold voice asked.

Harry had no difficulty recognising it. It was Lord Voldemort.

The young man answered "I have a plan in place. With the helper you have given me we shall break into the man's house in a few weeks and I shall take his place".

"Good. Very good" Voldemort murmured sounding pleased.

The young man stood up and looked towards the door. He frowned and Harry held his breath "My Lord there is someone outside" the young man told the figure in the chair "bring him in" Voldemort hissed coldly.

There was movement in the room, the door opened and Harry came face to face with the young man.

Before Harry knew what was happening he entered the room and then a cold voice said "Avada Kedavra!".

He awoke with a start.

His heart racing. He was shaking.

At breakfast he managed to convinced himself it was just a bad dream.

He had forgotten all about it by the afternoon.

* * *

It was the early morning of the Eighteenth of August and Harry lay on his bed in the room he was sharing with Ron at The Burrow.

He and his family were staying overnight so they had an easier trek to Stoats Head Hill and their portkey to the World Cup.

As Harry dreamed he found himself walking up some stairs in a grand old house.

When he spoke thought it was with the voice of an old man "hello? who's up here?" a voice said quietly.

He carried on along the landing until he reached the second door on the right.

Inside he could hear raised voices "Fletcher" the voice said coldly "where is Nagini?".

The voice answered "I'm not sure My Lord. I believe she's moving along the landing".

"Bring her to me she needs milking" the cold voice instructed.

"At once My Lord" came the reverential reply.

The door opened and Harry found himself face to face with Mundungus Fletcher.

The evil man smiled cruelly and said "My Lord we have a visitor".

"Bring him to me and fetch Nagini" the cold voice instructed.

Soon a large, long snake slithered along the landing stopping just short of the old man and turned and slithered into the room.

Harry or the old man (he wasn't sure) was pushed into the room.

Fletcher entered and the door shut.

There was a shout "Avada Kedavra!", the sound of a body hitting the floor and the door opened again.

Harry saw something horrible.

The snake was advancing on the old man's body "feeding time Nagini" instructed the cold voice.

The snake needing encouragement advanced on the old man and began to devour him.

Harry woke up feeling sick.

He was shivering and sweating and the same time.

What he had seen was horrible.

It was even worse than the previous dream.

What really irked him was that though he could remember Fletcher's face and Voldemort's voice he just could not remember what location they were in. If they were even in a location.

Harry still believed firmly that it was just a bad dream and wouldn't and hadn't happened.

Harry lay there until five am when a loud knocking on the door snapped him from his thoughts.

He watched in amusement as Ron awoke with a start and fell out of bed "ow!" he exclaimed "who the hell's knocking this early?" he grumbled.

The door opened and Fred poked his head through "morning lazy bones" he said to Ron who grumbled "morning Harry".

"Morning Fred" Harry yawned tiredly.

"Dad says you both need to get up. Mum and your Mum has made us all some breakfast and we need to eat now because we leave in half an hour".

Harry thanked Fred and quickly set about changing into the clothes he'd wear to the World Cup.

He'd settled on a pair of blue jeans and a blue t shirt emblazoned with a fire breathing Dragon.

He stumbled a bit as he put on his trainers but was soon ready and after returning from the bathroom was forced to get Ron up and make sure he got dressed.

The two of them then took the stairs two at a time down through the winding house and found themselves in the kitchen in no time.

His family, the Weasley's and Hermione all greeted him warmly and Draco joked "let me guess, you had to get ickle Ronniekins up?".

Harry sniggered "yeah something like that".

"Don't call me that!" Ron exclaimed indignantly as he sat down to have breakfast.

"Oh but you are our ickle Ronniekins!" George said in a mock sweet voice and pinched Ron's cheek "gerrof!" Ron said smacking his hand away and hurling some toast at him.

After the adults had settled them all down they had a nice hearty breakfast and then set off with Admonishments from Mrs Weasley to be careful and have fun.

* * *

As they walked along, Harry felt very sleepy.

The dream had prevented him from getting back to sleep before they had to get up.

He yawned loudly.

Beside him, Ron yawned even louder.

Draco wasn't far behind.

Hermione complained "what is this a yawning competition?".

They all laughed and then Ron said sleepily "how many of us are going by portkey Dad".

Mr Weasley smiled "Me, you, Ginny, Fred, George and Hermione will take one portkey once a few more people turn up" he pointed to Harry "Harry, James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Molly and Draco will take the other one".

Mr Weasley looked out over the hill and smiled "ah, here they come now".

Harry and Ron looked out over the hill and saw Amos Diggory who they had been told worked as Head of Magical Games and Sports following the demotion of Ludo Bagman.

"Amos how nice to see you again!" Mr Weasley greeted the other man warmly and shook hands with him.

Harry's Dad and the other adults also shook hands with him but Harry noticed that his Dad and Uncles didn't seem to like the man very much.

"And this must your Son Cedric" Mr Weasley said brightly.

He shook Cedric's hand "nice to meet you Sir" Cedric said politely shaking his hand.

After introductions were made or remade they two groups grabbed hold of their respective portkeys.

In the case of the group lead by Mr Weasley it was an old boot.

In the case of Harry's family it was an old tea pot.

They all grasped onto the portkeys and Harry felt the familiar and very unwelcome sensation pulling at his navel as he was sucked in.

They spun round and round for a long while making Harry feel queasy before they finally ended up on solid ground.

When Harry landed he retched up much of his breakfast.

Someone handed him a water bottle.

He went to thank them and saw it was Cedric "thanks" he said hoarsely.

The older boy replied "no problem".

After Harry had drunk his fill he passed the bottle back and his family, the Weasleys and Diggory's and Hermione all walked through the field up to what looked like a farmhouse.

Sitting in a deck chair on the porch was a man in a brown jacket wearing a flat cap.

He looked at them curiously as they approached.

No doubt he was bemused by the way Mr Weasley was dressed.

Given that Mr Weasley was wearing flared jeans and a leather jacket that was not at all his style this wasn't surprising.

Harry watched as his Dad, Remus, Mr Diggory and Mr Weasley all approached the man to pay for their tent pitch.

Remus being half muggle and half wizard knew a lot about muggle money and so was made spokesman for them.

"Hello" he said to the farmer "we're here to pay our pitch fees for out tents" he gestured to the the other three adults that had joined him "the bookings are in the names of Weasley, Potter and Diggory" he said.

The man consulted his book and after some searching, found the entries "ah yes three tents, Potter, Weasley and Diggory".

Remus handed him the correct muggle money to which the farmer tipped his cap in thanks and then said "which of you is Mr Diggory?".

Mr Diggory stepped forward "that would be me".

The farmer gestured "you see the that vacant pitch all the way over to the North?" Mr Diggory nodded "that's yours" the farmer told him.

Mr Diggory thanked him and turned to the rest of them "we'll probably see you later" he said and he and Cedric walked off with their packs slung over their backs.

"Mr Weasley and Potter" the farmer said.

Harry's Dad and Ron's Dad both stepped forward.

James said "I'm Mr Potter and this is Mr Weasley".

"Right" said the farmer looking oddly at Mr Weasley "you're pitch is directly west of here where there's a vacant pitch in between two other tents" he informed them and then added "you aren't the first we've had here today".

Harry saw his Dad stiffen "oh, who else has been through?".

"Loads of them" the farmer said "thousands of them!. Lucky I've got such a big field. You know...I'm almost sure I saw..." in a flash a Ministry official appeared, pointed his wand at the man and said "Obliviate".

The man's face took on a dazed expression and Harry knew that he'd been Obliviated.

He felt sorry for the man but knew it was necessary.

Still looking dazed the man said "you'll be wanting a map of the campsite" he reached behind him and fished out two maps which he handed to Harry's Dad "have a nice stay" he said.

The Weasley and Potter groups moved off followed by the Ministry official who Harry realised was John Dawlish "alright for you lucky sods" he grumbled to Harry's Dad "nice day off and a game of Quidditch while we've got to keep Obliviating that muggle and keep all these wizards in line" he gestured at the row upon row of tents.

Many were just ordinary looking tents but some had towers atop them, others had chimneys and still others had second story's.

Mr Weasley chuckled "always the same when we're together" he commented "we can't help showing off".

Harry's Dad, Sirius, Remus and Peter all laughed at this.

The group reached their pitch and were surprised to hear a voice calling out from a tent nearby "oh great!, you're next to us!".

It was Neville who was standing outside a tent next to the empty pitches.

Standing with his was his Dad Frank and Mum Alice who were both Aurors for the Ministry.

"Neville!" Harry, Draco, Ron Ginny and Hermione all exclaimed happily.

They went over and clapped him on the back or shoulder or in the cases of Hermione and Ginny they hugged him.

"Hello Mr and Mrs Longbottom" Harry said politely with a smile.

They greeted him back and other greetings went on as Neville said "hey you'll never guess who's in the tent next to us!".

"Who?" they all chorused.

"Me!" a happy voice exclaimed.

They looked over and saw Luna heading towards them.

"Luna!" they all shouted happily.

There were more hugs and greetings and Luna informed them that it was just her and Dad as her Mum was busy back at Firefly Cottage "what's she working on now?" Draco asked his girlfriend keenly after a quick kiss.

"It's some new potion or other. I think it's meant to delay ageing or something" she said.

After a time they said goodbye to Luna and Harry, Ron and Draco went off to collect water while Hermione and Ginny stayed with Fred, George and the adults to help assemble the tents.

As they were walking Harry bumped into someone and was surprised to find himself face to face with Oliver Wood the former Gryffindor Quidditch Captain "Oliver!" he said grinning.

His former Captain grinned back "Harry" he said shaking his hand "glad to see you".

Wood greeted the others and walked and talked with them as they headed to the water pump "so what are you doing with yourself now?" Harry asked him.

The older wizard smiled "I've been accepted into the reserves for Puddlemere United!" he said happily.

"That's great Oliver!" Harry enthused "I'm really please for you".

"As they reached the pump Oliver said "I expect Angelina is the new Captain".

Harry grinned "don't know yet they haven't told us but she'd be the obvious choice".

Oliver nodded "I reckon you'll get made Goalkeeper this year Ron" he said to Harry's friend.

Ron's face turned red and he mumbled "I'm not good enough".

Oliver however picked up his words and replied firmly "yes you are good enough Ron. I should know. I didn't select you for the team simply because you are friends with Harry. It's because you were the most talented option".

Ron grinned at this and Harry flashed a grateful smile to Oliver.

Ron had always been very self conscious and disbelieving of his abilities and needed to be told he was good.

They filled up their buckets, said goodbye to Oliver and headed back to their tents.

On the way there they passed through a section of tents bedecked in shamrocks.

Harry noted the tents were the colours of the Irish flag.

They saw a familiar boy with short brown hair sitting outside a tent with a middle aged couple.

Harry called out "hi Seamus!".

The Irish wizard looked up and smiled "oh hey Harry, Draco, Ron, so you made it" he said with a grin.

They grinned back.

The middle aged couple stood up and Seamus introduced them "Mum, Dad, this is Harry Potter, Draco Black and Ron Weasley, we're all in Gryffindor together".

"Oh yes you've mentioned them a few times" the woman said with a heavy Irish accent.

She extended a hand and shook each of theirs "pleased to meet you all" she gestured to the man "this is my husband Harold" the man was more reserved and merely nodded and said "hello".

They sat with Seamus for a few minutes chatting about who would win and Seamus was pleased to believe that Draco and Harry were backing Ireland but bemused by Ron's belief that Krum would win it for Bulgaria.

By the time they returned to their pitch the tents had already been assembled and Mr Weasley and their Uncle Peter had the cooking equipment out along with a great many sausages and some bacon.

"Ah there you are" Harry's Dad said to them as he emerged from the tent.

Behind him Sirius, looking grumpy, emerged from the tent also and said "what took so long. I'm hungry".

Everyone laughed and Remus who was sitting down reading remarked "you are always hungry Padfoot".

"I am not!" Sirius said sounding mock outraged.

Harry and the others laughed even more "you are Padfoot" Harry said wiping tears from his eyes "you even eat the skin on bananas!".

Sirius couldn't grinning himself and held up a finger "that was one time!" he declared causing more laughter.

As the sausages and bacon were cooking on the camping stoves three men with red hair emerged from out of nowhere.

It was Bill, Charlie and Percy the oldest Weasley children who all looked relieved to have arrived "oh great, breakfast!" Percy said happily as he licked his lips.

"Don't mind slobbering Percy" Bill remarked "how much is there?".

Peter laughed "as much as we want!" he said.

As soon as the food was ready everyone sat down on chairs or blankets or on the grass made yellow by the sun.

As they ate Harry asked "Percy, how did your Auror exam go?".

The older boy smirked. After he had swallowed his food he replied "good I think. I should pass hopefully".

"Good to hear" Harry said genuinely.

He was really happy for Percy.

He had looked out for Harry several times in the past and laughed and joked quite a bit while still managing to be serious.

Harry felt that Percy would be a real asset to the Auror Squads, a sentiment shared by his Dad judging by his Dad's words "he's one of the best Auror candidates I've seen in years" his Dad told everyone.

Percy blushed at these words evidently feeling a bit embarrassed.

"You'll do fine Percy" Sirius added.

* * *

They had their dinner early that evening and were still discussing the match when a loud horn sounded letting everyone know that the match would be starting soon.

Harry and the others trudged up to the stadium. In his hand he held a programme which Hermione had bought for everyone and a pair of omnioculars.

He had bought a pair for himself and Hermione, Draco had bought his own and Harry had given money to Ron's Brother Charlie to buy him one as he knew Ron's sensitivity would not allow him to accept what he felt to be charity.

As they headed inside the stadium and began to head up the steps Mr Weasley informed them all "we've all got seats in the commentators box alongside the Minister of Magic, the Bulgarian Minister and Ludo Bagman".

Harry grinned at this. He really enjoyed Mr Bagman's commentary from the Quidditch League and would love to hear it in person.

They were halfway up when a smug voice said "going all the way up are you?" Harry turned and scowled.

Standing near them was his nemesis Theodore Nott.

Before Harry could reply his Brother got in first "we're in the top box with Ludo Bagman and the Minister of Magic" he said grinning.

Nott's jaw dropped for a moment before he scowled.

"Where are seated?" Draco asked.

Harry marvelled.

The way the question was phrased sounded innocent but Harry knew it was a dig.

Nott went red in the face "well you can..." he began to say only for his Dad to intervene "come Nott. Do not be exchanging words with the riff raff".

Harry's Dad looked ready to thump the snob as did his Godfather Sirius.

Thankfully Remus, Peter and Mr Weasley moved them all on before a fight broke out.

They finally reached the top box and sat down.

Ludo Bagman who Harry had met before greeted all them with vigorous handshakes and warm words.

They greeted the Minister and then Ludo Bagman asked "ready Minister?".

The Minister smiled "ready when you are Ludo" she said looking like she was enjoying herself enormously.

Harry had met her a few times and had been told she was a massive Quidditch fan being a supporter as it happened of Harry's favourite team the Wimbourne Wasps.

Bagman tapped his wand on the microphone and said "Sonorous".

There was a loud noise indicating the microphone to be working.

Bagman stepped back to allow Minister Bones the chance to speak "my fellow Witches and Wizards it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the final match of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup. Begin!".

She sat down and Harry heard a great roar from the crowd.

Bagman retook his seat as the Minister remarked "I've never liked long speeches".

Harry grinned at this.

Bagman began to speak "Here come the mascots ladies and gentlemen, first for Ireland the Leprechauns!".

The crowd cheered as a group of Leprechauns wearing green top hats and green and black coats.

They danced jauntily in the air to an Irish jig and then threw coins about the place.

Ron scrambled to pick up some only for Draco to tell him "they are real Ron. They'll disappear once you leave the stadium".

Ron was disappointed and chucked the coins away.

Bagman spoke again "and here come the Bulgarian team mascots the Veela!".

A group of extremely attractive looking women sauntered onto the pitch sighing and dancing in such a way as to have Harry transfixed.

From somewhere far away he heard an irritated voice "oh really! will you all sit down!" he felt a tug on his arm and came to his senses.

When he saw where he was standing he looked down, gave a yell of surprise and jumped back off the ledge.

He sat back down next to Ginny his heart pounding in his ears "you need to be more careful Harry!" she scolded him.

Harry looked sheepish "sorry love" he replied "thanks for saving me" he kissed her on the cheek.

She smiled "what are girlfriends for?".

Harry noticed Hermione pull down all of the other men and as Harry looked at the Veela's he suddenly saw them as they were.

They weren't attractive at all.

They merely put on the visage to trick people.

"Here comes the very popular Egyptian referee Hassan Mostafa!".

The referee walked onto the pitch, broom under one arm and a crate in his right hand.

He waved to the crowd acknowledging the applause and then waited for the players.

The Irish team was introduced first "introducing the Irish National Quidditch Team, Troy, Mullet, Moran, Lynch, Connolly, Quigley and O' Haire!" the Irish supporters and many others in the stadium roared their approval, Harry amongst them.

"And now the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team!" Bagman announced "Volkov, Vulchanov, Ivanova, Dimitrov, Levski, Zograf and Krum!".

The Bulgarian fans exploded into cheers and many others cheered as well as Krum and the other Bulgarians circled the stadium.

Krum being a Seeker was one of Harry's favourite players.

Referee Mostafa talked to the Captains about the rules, flipped a coin, the toss was won by Ireland and the two team Captain shook hands.

The whistle blew, the crate flew open and the fourteen players, one referee and Quidditch balls flew into the air.

It was a very fast paced encounter. 'Even faster than the Quidditch League' Harry thought as he marvelled at the sheer speed and intensity of the play.

One minute Ireland were streaking down the wing, the next Bulgaria had beaten off the goal attempt and counterattacked.

All the while flying above the action was Krum and the Irish Seeker Lynch.

Harry watched through the omnioculars in fascination as Ireland managed to go forty points up in one passage of play.

Bulgaria hit back and took the lead only for Ireland to retake the lead.

And so it went on as the game got more and more brutal with much pushing, shoving and sending bludgers at people.

At one point the referee blew his whistle and awarded Ireland a penalty due to one of the Bulgarian Beaters throwing his bat at Moran who hit him in response.

Bulgaria was thus also awarded a penalty.

Both teams scored taking the score to Ireland 100 Bulgaria 90.

The Seekers still tried in vain to find the snitch.

Ireland went on a relentless scoring streak notching up 160 more points to bring their total to 260 points.

Ron groaned at the score and then gaped in amazement as Krum caught the snitch and held it aloft.

He clapped in amazement at Krum's ability but still asked "why did he catch the snitch?".

Harry who had read practically every book on Quidditch there was answered him "he knew that Bulgaria couldn't come back from it so he chose to give his team some dignity in defeat" he explained to his best friend.

Ron nodded at this "makes sense" he replied.

Harry noticed that Ludo Bagman looked despondent about the result even as he announced that Ireland had won.

Harry had a feeling he'd bet on Bulgaria winning.

A quick look at Fred and George who were rushing over to him and Bagman's hasty retreat confirm this theory. He grinned widely as Bagman ran away.

The Irish Team came over and Minister Bones presented them with the trophy announcing "the winners of the 422nd Quidditch World Cup, Ireland!".

Most of the stadium roared it's approval as the team put their medals on and the Captain held aloft the trophy.

As they headed back to their tents that night Harry felt elated.

It had been one of the most fun experiences of his life and not one he was sure to forget in a hurry.

* * *

They spent the rest of the night discussing the match as everybody was much too excitable still for sleep.

They drank hot chocolate and reminisced about the parts they had all most enjoyed.

The discussion only ending when Ginny fell asleep and knocked over her mug.

"Time for bed I think" Mr Weasley had announced.

All of them agreed and Harry and his family bid the Weasleys and Hermione goodnight as they headed for their own tent.

Harry was so exhausted as he climbed into bed that night, that he fell asleep at once.

* * *

Harry was awoken by the feel of someone shaking him roughly and an urgent voice shouting "up! get up Harry!".

He opened his eyes, yawned and blinked.

The first thing he saw when he slipped his glasses on was his Dad "there's a disturbance on the campsite".

Harry could now hear much noise but it wasn't the laughing or singing of earlier but much more sinister sounds of people crying, screaming, shouting and of people running.

"You and Draco need to take Molly, meet up Fred, George, Ron and Ginny and head into the woods. Do you understand?" he said.

Harry nodded and scrambled off his bunk.

He found Draco at the tent flap looking ready for anything while Molly trembled in fear next to him.

* * *

Authors Note: This chapter was longer than I planned. I am splitting it and finishing off the summer and adding the start of Fourth Year in the next one.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: The Potter Universe & all characters are owned by JK Rowling

* * *

Authors Note: The last section of summer plus the opening feast

For anyone confused, I forgot to add in the announcement of the Triwizard Tournament and so had to take the chapter down and add that in.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Seven: The Dark Mark, Mad Eye Moody and The Opening Feast

Harry took his Sisters hand and together with Draco, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna and The Twins they ran for dear life through the mass of panicking people, trampled tents and camping debris as they headed for the nearby woods.

Harry turned for a moment and the New Marauders watched in horror as wizards and witches with masks walked leisurely through the campsite throwing out curses, laughing all the while.

Some people fell down dead from the Killing Curse while others were vilely tortured.

"That is sick!" Ron commented as they saw one Deatheater holding a muggle girl up and spinning her round like a puppet.

The farmer and his wife were also being levitated and they could hear the woman's screams and cries.

They turned again and ran.

Somewhere in the mass of people they lost the rest of the New Marauders and it was just him and Molly alone.

They found a place to hide and Harry held her close as the sound of spell fire erupted nearby.

He prayed that his Dad, Uncles and the other adults out there fighting the evil witches and wizards would be safe and well at the end of the fighting.

The spell fire seemed to go on for an interminable amount of time but eventually the night was silent save for the sound of crying, screaming, footsteps and fires raging.

Harry stood up cautiously.

When he saw there were no enemies nearby he pulled his Sister to her feet and they began to walk.

After a few minutes they came to a section of campsite where there were less bodies and less debris.

Harry froze in place.

Not far away from he and Molly stood a young man with straw coloured blonde hair wearing a leather jacket.

The man looked at Harry for a moment as if sizing him up.

Clearly deciding he was no threat for now, the man took out a wand, aimed it at the sky and shouted "Morsmordre!".

Before Harry and Molly's eyes a large green skull shape formed in the night sky, visible through the smoke and flames.

Harry felt sick.

He'd been told a few years ago by their Father of a certain shape made of green mist that appeared over houses of people killed by Deatheaters.

It was a skull and it's name was the Dark Mark.

"Harry what is it? why are you shaking?".

Harry looked down at his arms and found he was indeed shaking.

He looked at his Sister and he saw she was worried. Very worried.

He swallowed, looked back up at the mark and said "a few years ago...Dad told me of a certain mark that often appears when someone is killed by Deatheaters, it's called the Dark Mark and it's...it's skull shaped, it was created by Voldemort during the last wizarding war to instil fear and terror in their enemies and innocents alike".

His Sister began to shiver despite the summer heat and Harry drew her closer to comfort her.

She rested her head on his shoulder.

Suddenly witches and wizards apparated in front of them and must have mistook them for Deatheaters as they began to aim curses at them.

Harry pushed his Sister to the ground managed to duck just in time to avoid a curse that he knew would have sliced his legs off.

"Stop that's my children!" he heard his Father roar in outrage.

He had never been so glad in his entire life to see him.

His Dad appeared alongside Sirius, Remus and Peter.

"Are you both alright?" their Father asked tenderly.

Harry nodded shakily while Molly merely sobbed in response.

He drew them both into fierce hugs.

When he let them go Sirius, Remus and Peter moved over to check on them.

Harry knew that most of the Aurors who had thrown the curses were young and had probably only just finished their training which would be bound to make them more nervous and spell happy.

His Dad wasn't happy though "the Aurors that nearly hit my Son and Daughter with curses are hereby on probation until they learn not to be so damn spell happy!" he announced angrily.

"Where are the others?" Molly asked shakily.

"They managed to make it to the woods" Sirius informed them and Remus added "Arthur, Bill, Charlie and Percy are bringing them back now".

"Here they come" Peter said.

Harry looked towards the clearing and found that, sure enough Draco, Ron, Neville, Ginny, Luna and The Twins all looking fairly shaken were emerging from the woods and heading towards them with the rest of the Weasley's.

As they all drew level, Ginny broke away from the group and ran towards Harry flinging her arms around him and planting kiss on his face "oh thank god you're alright!" she exclaimed "thank god! thank god!".

Ginny and Luna both hugged Molly while Draco in rare show of major emotion hugged Harry fiercely "you scared the crap out me" he said and wagged a finger at Harry "don't go getting caught up in a battle like that again!".

Harry laughed shakily "I'll try not to" he promised.

Ron clapped him on the shoulder and said to both him and Molly "glad to see you're both alright" in typical understated fashion.

Neville gave them both hugs while The Twins, Percy and two eldest Weasley children also made sure they were alright.

"Are you sure you're ok both of you?" Mr Weasley asked in concern.

Harry nodded "I'll be fine Mr Weasley but Molly's very shaken up about everything".

Mr Weasley nodded in understanding.

It was just then that Harry's Dad looked up at the night sky and his face turned the colour of clay.

He turned to look at his children and asked gesturing to the mark "did either of you see who conjured that?".

Molly didn't nod or react in any way, she was clearly still too traumatised.

James recognising this called over Remus and Peter "take everyone except Harry back to the tents and make sure they're alright. Harry seems the most calm and I think he knows what happened".

Remus and Peter nodded and shepherded the children away even a reluctant and argumentative Ginny "I'm not leaving!" she shouted as Peter pulled her away from the scene.

Once they were all gone it was just the Aurors and Auror Trainees left.

Soon they were joined by Minister of Magic Amelia Bones who looked up at the mark and asked shakily "where did that come from James?".

Harry's Dad looked at him "I think Harry may have seen who conjured it. Am I right Harry?" he asked gently.

Harry sighed heavily and nodded.

His Dad instructed an Auror who had a quill, parchment and ink to write down the description.

Harry went all the way through from leaving the tent to arriving in the open piece of ground and seeing the other wizard "he had straw coloured blonde hair and he was wearing this long leather jacket".

Harry paused for a moment "his hair was messy, he was average height about five foot eleven maybe six foot, I'm not sure" Harry swallowed and tasted some acid "for a moment he looked straight at me and Molly, then he took out his wand and aimed it at the sky" Harry pointed to where the mark hung, menacing in the night sky "he conjured that thing".

"Me and Molly didn't see where he went but when we looked back at him he'd gone".

Harry's Dad swore "he must have disapparated from the campsite" he said in disappointment.

He then ruffled Harry's hair "great work on the description Harry".

"Who do you think it is?" Harry asked him curiously.

His Dad's face became grim and he revealed to Harry all about Barty Crouch, how he'd spirited his Son who was due to die, from Ministry custody, how he'd been executed for it and his Son had never been found.

"So you think..." Harry faltered "you think it's...".

"Yes Harry I think it's Barty Crouch Jr" his Dad hugged him "and if it is then things just got a lot more dangerous for us all".

* * *

Today had not been a good day for James.

The morning had been spent going through an a virtual mountain of paperwork as high as the ceiling which were not just Auror reports but also new rules and regulations instituted by the Ministry.

Then at lunch the staff canteen was out of his favourite sandwich filling which meant he had to settle for ham and he really did not like ham.

Then the lift on his floor broke down necessitating using the stairs from Auror Headquarters six floors up all the way to the Lobby on the ground floor.

The final straw came as he was heading towards one of the fireplaces in the Lobby to floo home.

He was feeling tired and irritated and a voice called out "Mr Potter!".

He ignored it and kept walking.

He heard urgent footsteps behind him and turned around fully prepared to yell at whoever felt it necessary to make his day worse.

Before he could say anything however the man who was the Lobby receptionist Tom, handed him an urgent message that had been sent by one of the duty Aurors.

James tore open the envelope, read the message and sighed.

The message said that his old mentor Alastor Moody needed to speak with him at once. It was a matter of urgency according to the message.

He cared a lot about Moody. Owed a lot to the man.

He'd been the one to teach James everything he knew about being an Auror and had recommended him for the position of Head Auror when he'd retired.

And then of course he'd helped rescue Harry and Draco all those years ago when they'd been kidnapped.

Sentimentality had it's limits however.

For the past few years his old mentor had been ranting and raving about threats to his person in the past few years.

He'd disturbed the peace several times by throwing curses at rubbish bins and attacking objects he suspected to be people transfigured.

He even refused to have any pets on the off chance that they might be Animagi in disguise.

Wearily, James made the trek all the way back up to Auror Headquarters and made a firecall home.

It was his wife that answered.

Lucy was in the drawing-room reading. It was one of her favourite past times.

He coughed to get her attention.

She glanced over at the fireplace and smiled "James" she said happily "what time are you coming home, Peters got beef stew warming in the oven".

James sighed "I've just received a message from my old mentor Alastor Moody, you remember him".

"Oh yes, has one eye missing and a wooden leg, lost a chunk of his nose, **very **paranoid these days from what I've heard".

James nodded "seems he wants to see me though I'm not sure what about".

"Will you be very late?" she asked in disappointment.

James nodded resignedly "I think so. Moody does like to go on a lot".

Lucy smiled sympathetically "I'll tell Peter to save you some and leave it in the oven".

James grinned wearily "you are an angel. You know that right?".

Lucy laughed "you have said a few times love".

She blew him a kiss "I'll see you later then. I'll wait up for you".

James nodded "I'll see you later love".

He ended the firecall.

Taking some floo powder he threw it down in the fireplace and called out "Alastor Moody's House 25 Camden Town, London".

He disappeared in a whoosh of flames.

Not too long later he landed on solid stone and stepped out of the fireplace.

Before he had the chance to dust himself down he grabbed by someone who threw him against a wall and pressed a wand to his throat "what were the words of condolence I spoke to James Potter when his wife died?" the gruff voice demanded.

Feeling irritated and exhausted James said "come on Moody. You know it's me stop pissing around!".

"Answer the question!" the gruff voice demanded more aggressively.

James sighed and said with some effort "lower the wand a little and I'll tell you".

"You think I'm stupid?" Moody said.

"Right now? yes!" James answered hotly.

Moody lowered his wand slightly and James said "you told me that even though Lily had died she'd always be with me and always love me. You said I needed to live on for her sake as she wouldn't want me to be miserable".

After hearing these words Moody lowered his wand completely.

James glared at him "what the hell Moody!?" he walked over to the sofa and sat down "I know you are paranoid but that was pushing it!" he massaged his throat and Moody had the good grace to look embarrassed.

The wizard sat down near him, took out a hip flash and drank deeply.

Wiping his lips and replacing the cap he said "sorry James but I can't be too careful these days. Enemies everywhere".

Moody looked round "they could be waiting outside at this very moment".

James rolled his eyes "of course you have enemies Moody. We all do, they're called Deatheaters".

"Yes but the Deatheaters don't want to impersonate you do they?" Moody replied gruffly.

James couldn't believe he was hearing this.

It seemed Moody had finally cracked completely.

Replace him?.

It made no sense and James said so "Moody this idea is mad. No one is trying to replace you. What would be the point? you're retired".

"Actually I've just agreed to come out of retirement to teach" Moody informed him calmly.

James was surprised by this.

Moody had never shown any particular inclination to teach before "why?" he asked.

Moody shrugged "Albus asked me to. He hasn't been able find anyone to take over the position and besides that I'm bored and then..." Moody grinned, a sight mad terrifying thanks to his various scars "then there's the protection I'll have once I'm in the castle. Once I'm there I'll be safe".

James shook his head "I'll help you take one look around Moody and then I'm leaving. I'm telling you, there is no one out there".

James and Moody spent the next three hours thoroughly tearing the house apart looking for any possible intruder in either human or animagus form.

As James had suspected they found not one sign of anyone on the property except for himself and Moody.

"Goodnight Moody!" in irritation after they had check his bedroom for the third time.

He stepped into the fireplace and flooed home feeling more exhausted than he had done in years.

When James arrived in the fireplace of the drawing-room of Marauder Manor he was so tired that he stumbled out and only just fell onto the sofa before falling asleep.

After a while Lucy woke him up.

He ate his supper quickly, brushed his teeth and headed up to bed with his wife.

He fell asleep before his wife could even ask him how it had gone at Moody's house.

And as James Potter slept soundly a situation that nobody could ever have predicted was taking place at Moody's home.

* * *

Alastor Moody felt suddenly very foolish at his paranoia.

Perhaps he was wrong to see enemies hiding in the shadows.

He laughed loud and long and sat down to enjoy a glass of fine Scotch, neat over ice just as he liked it.

He'd only taken a few sips when a crash sounded from outside.

His paranoia was back in full swing.

He snatched up his wand and made for the front door.

Unlocking all of the chains and bolts he peered outside, wand at the ready for any intruder.

He was so busy looking at the fallen over bins which he righted, that he failed to see what looked like two animals enter his home.

The first was furry and looked very much like a grey tabbycat. The second was ferret with brown fur and bald patch on it's head.

The two creatures snuck inside and concealed themselves.

Moody went outside, righted the bins, came back in put back all the locks and chains and bolts securing the front door.

What he didn't realise was that he had just locked himself in his house with two very dangerous Deatheaters.

Moody was just about to sit back down when the dark detectors began to whine loudly.

He stood up. The glass fell from his hand and shattered.

He turned round wand raised for battle and was forced to dodge out the way of an expertly thrown Jelly Legs Jinx.

He took cover behind the sofa and fired a Knockback Jinx.

The other wizard ducked and spell hit the wall behind him uselessly.

Moody ducked again avoiding the Bombarda Curse which blew his grandfather clock to smithereens flinging wood splinters in all directions.

Moody threw a knife at the wizard to throw him off but it slammed into an armchair.

"Dammit!" Moody swore.

He moved from the sofa and threw a Knockback Jinx at his opponent who was unable to move on time as he tripped over some furniture.

The Jinx hit him full in the stomach causing him to be flung back and crash down hard on a side table.

Moody cautiously moved closer but the wizard was still conscious and fired back before Moody could throw up a shield.

Moody was hit with a severing charm that slashed his arm painfully.

As he grasped it he found himself being fired upon by another opponent.

At last he got a clear look at his assailants and nearly laughed.

He was battling two vicious Deatheaters and he'd not even left the house to do so.

"Impedimenta!" he called out.

The spell hit the Mundungus Fletcher on his wand arm preventing him throwing out more spells.

Moody knowing he needed back up made a dash for the fireplace, seized some floo powder and was about to throw it down when a voice called out callously "Crucio!".

He fell to the ground writhing in pain as the curse shot through his limbs, his torso and his brain like fire.

After what seemed an eternity the curse was broken.

Moody grasped the mantelpiece in attempt to haul himself up only for a voice to call off roughly "Petrificus Totalis".

His world faded into nothingness but not before he thought 'what a bloody fool'.

* * *

James received the news the following morning of much crashing, explosions and shouting going on at Moody's house.

James though had had enough.

It was not a day for pandering to the whims of a paranoid old wizard.

He told one of his Junior Aurors to deal with the issue and he set about making breakfast for everyone which he'd been learning to thanks to his wife, Remus and Peter who were all good cooks.

As James waited for everyone to come down to breakfast he felt that today was a very special day.

Not only were Harry and Draco returning to Hogwarts as Fourth Years 'god how time flies' thought James.

Not only this, Molly was finally heading off to Hogwarts as a First Year.

they'd gone into Diagon Alley a week before and purchased all of her school things including her very first wand which she had been overawed with and kept in pristine condition, polishing it constantly.

He and Lucy had also got her her own owl a lovely barn owl which she had named Lawrence.

Speaking of his Daughter, said Daughter entered the kitchen breaking him out of his reverie and kissed him on the cheek "morning Dad!" she said brightly.

He could see that she was very excited about going to Hogwarts after all the tales told to her by himself and others.

He was amazed at his Daughters determination as well, for when she had been asked which house she thought she'd be in she'd replied immediately "Gryffindor" no hesitation.

She was a girl who knew what she wanted and how to get it.

He was certain she'd do well at school.

* * *

For Harry the first of September was always a rush as despite having seemingly packed everything before hand he usually forgot something, whether it be a sock, a dung bomb or owl treats for Hedwig.

This morning was no different as the fourteen year old searched his room desperately for his harmonica.

He'd bought one earlier in the summer as a bit of a laugh as he'd heard one of his favourite musicians John Lennon playing it on the song Love Me Do.

What had started out as a joke had turned into a very serious hobby.

He now played the harmonica most days practising with different songs and seeing how they sounded on harmonica.

Everyone had been most impressed by his progress and Ginny seemed to love him playing for her which gave extra motivation to play.

"Where is the bloody thing?" he cursed through gritted teeth "it must be here somewhere!" he said loudly "items don't just grow legs and walk away!".

"Having some trouble?" an amused voice said.

He looked over at the door and found his Mother standing there smiling "need some help?" she asked.

Harry nodded sheepishly and explained "it's my harmonica. I want to take it to Hogwarts but I can't find it".

His Mother smiled "I'm sure that together we'll find it no problem".

They searched all round the room and then Harry heard his Mum say "ah ha! here it is!".

Harry looked over to his bed and saw his Mum holding up his harmonica.

It looked quite dirty.

He walked over to her, took it out of her hands and said "thanks Mum".

She ruffled his hair and kissed his forehead "any time sweetie. Any time".

After she left he set to work polishing it carefully before placing it back in it's case, wrapping it in a tea towel and placing it in his trunk near the top.

From downstairs he heard his Dad call up "Harry, Draco! time to go!".

Harry called out "Molter!".

In a flash the young House Elf was standing front of him smiling and bowing "what does Master Harry require of Molter?".

Harry smiled "err, I can't get this downstairs on my own, could you...".

The House Elf smiled "say no more Master Harry" the Elf clicked his fingers and the trunk was gone.

He heard muffled curse and someone shout out "who put this trunk here!?".

He sniggered at Sirius' annoyed voice. "Thanks Molter" he said.

The Elf bowed again "happy to help Harry Potter" and he disappeared.

Harry grabbed his wand holster, fastened it round his wrist and slid his wand into it securely.

Once this was done he took a last look round his room, grabbed Hedwigs cage and headed off downstairs.

* * *

As ever they had to go back to the house several times for this or that item that Harry, Draco or Molly had forgotten to take with them and only just made it to Kings Cross Station at ten fifty am.

As Remus and Peter were at work and had already said their goodbyes the people seeing them off consisted of Harry's Parents, Draco's Parents and Celia.

Due to the lateness of the hour the goodbyes were very short "you all take care of yourselves" Celia said hugging them.

"We love you all" Janice said hugging each of them in turn.

"Behave yourselves and keep safe" Lucy said kissing each of them on the forehead and hugging them.

James and Sirius meanwhile took the three students aside and said "make sure to play a few pranks this year ok?".

Happily, the three students promised to do just that and after James Sirius said they loved them and to take care, they hauled their trunks onto the Hogwarts Express and moved a short way down the train until they found their usual compartment.

Inside, already waiting for them, were Hermione, Neville, Ginny, Ron and Luna who all greeted them happily and made room for Molly to sit down.

The train journey seemed to fly by happily this year with the only downside being the now semi annual visit of Nott and his two goons Crabbe and Goyle.

Harry and the others spent much of the journey speculating about just why their Parents were excited for them to be at Hogwarts this year.

Harry loved Hogwarts but couldn't think of anything new that would prompt the excitement.

He decided that adults could be very odd sometimes.

when the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station in the failing light, the New Marauders all stepped off the train and Harry doing his Brotherly duty guided Molly over to Hagrid who smiled at her warmly.

"Hello young Molly" he said.

She smiled back and said "hi Hagrid".

Harry gave her a hug "now you listen to what Hagrid says ok? he'll get you safe across the lake. I'll see you later Sis".

She nodded.

Draco hugged and told her something similar and the two Fourth Years joined their friends for the carriage ride up to the school, something they were particularly grateful for given the rain that poured down heavily.

* * *

Molly had been so excited to come to Hogwarts at last after all the stories but right now she was freezing cold and shivering thanks to the water splashing up from the lake and rain beating down.

After much time the boat she was sharing with three other First Years bumped against rock and she saw that the boat had reached it's destination.

"Firs Years this way" Hagrid called out to them and they scrambled from their boats, climbed up the steps and followed him along the pier to the rock face nearby.

They followed Hagrid up to a pair of large, old, iron double doors sunk into the rock.

As Hagrid approached the doors opened by themselves to admit him and the students.

As they stepped inside, the doors closed.

Hagrid turned to them all, took out his wand and waved it over them.

Molly patted herself down and was amazed to find that she was dry.

'I love magic!' she thought to herself happily as she and the other First Years walked up the steps behind the half-giant.

When they reached the ground floor the doors to the Great Hall opened and Molly saw Professor McGonagall.

She was looking pretty stern at that moment as she surveyed all of the First Years but Molly knew that she had a heart of gold and cared deeply about people.

She especially cared about her students.

"Here are the Firs Years Professor McGonagall" Hagrid informed her.

She smiled slightly "thank you Hagrid".

Molly had heard that despite Hagrid being a professor now he didn't like being called it outside class.

She had further been told how he still called his colleagues Professor.

After Hagrid had walked off into the Great Hall the stern witch said "follow me into the Great Hall. We shall proceed up the centre of the room to the steps near the staff table. You shall put on the sorting hat and be sorted into your Houses".

Molly had an attack of nerves.

'What if it puts me in another House?' she thought worriedly.

She didn't want to be separated from her Brothers.

"Follow me" the Professor said.

She turned and strode through the doors which opened before her

Molly was hit with a wave of noise as people talked, joked and speculated who would be in what House.

Molly nervously followed along with the other First Years looking around in awe at the Great Hall.

They only place as grandiose that she had seen was St Paul's Cathedral when the family had gone on a weeks holiday up to London.

As she drew level with Harry, Draco and their friends they were offered smiles of encouragement and Harry mouthed "see you in a bit".

Draco mouthed "good luck".

They reached the stool and spread themselves out "right First Years, I shall be calling names in alphabetical order. When I call your name please come up to the stool, sit down and place the hat firmly on your head. Do you understand?".

Molly and the others nodded, some nervous like her and others more sure of themselves.

As the names were called out Molly realised that many seemed to already have Brothers and Sisters here.

Her name was one of the last. She was called up after Lisa Young was sorted into Ravenclaw.

She noted the names of those girls sorted into Gryffindor "Caroline Bolton, Wendy Turner, Victoria Dance and Alexandra Farmer.

She was grateful to have a good memory for names and faces.

She stepped up in trepidation, sat on the stool and slowly put the hat on her head.

She realised her hands were shaking.

"Ah what do we have here?" the hat spoke causing her to jump.

"No need to panic" the hat said calmly "another Potter I see".

"Yes sir" she said politely.

The hat laughed "you must be the first in many years to be so polite young lady. Now lets see, you are smart but you don't spend all day with books, you're brave and despite you're intelligence you are not ambitious".

The hat smiled "I know just where to put you".

She shut her eyes and whispered "Gryffindor. Put me in Gryffindor".

Again the hat laughed "you read my thoughts" he said "if that's where you want to go it'll be...Gryffindor!" it shouted.

The Great Hall was awash with noise.

Molly took the hat off carefully, sat in on the stool and said "thank you".

As she ran over to her new House Mates at the Gryffindor Table she noted that everyone at said table was applauding, stamping their feet or cheering.

Some were even doing all three.

She took a seat in between her fellow First Years Caroline Bolton and Alexandra Farmer.

They were smiling at her and she introduced herself "I'm Molly Potter" she said.

They shook her hand "Alexandra Farmer" said the girl with light blonde hair "but everyone calls me Alex".

"And I'm Caroline Bolton but I prefer Carol" she told Molly.

They three of them sat and watched the rest of the sorting.

Once "Zabini, Thomas" had been sorted into Slytherin, the stool and sorting hat were taken away by Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore stood up "hello returning students and First Years. Another years begins at Hogwarts. I have the usual start of term announcements. Will all students please note that the Forbidden Forest is completely out of bounds to you all, no exceptions. Secondly, the list of contraband this year now includes Dung Bombs".

Nearby Molly heard Harry curse and grinned.

* * *

Harry was listening to Professor Dumbledore speak when the ceiling of the Great Hall began to change from it's calm night sky to stormy and angry as if some great god had been displeased.

People began to murmur and then a figure stepped out of the shadows of the Great Hall doors, aimed his wand at the ceiling and wordlessly settled it back down.

The murmuring turned to muttering.

Some people gasped.

Harry was amazed.

As the man came further into the light and began moving up the central aisle to the head table Harry saw that it was Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody.

He had met and spoken to Moody on several occasions.

Moody always attended his birthday party.

As Moody drew level with his table, he flashed Harry and his Siblings smiles and continued walking.

Harry grinned after him for a moment.

Moody reached the top table, Professor Dumbledore moved down to greet him with a warm handshake and a clap on the shoulder.

Harry knew that the two men were old friends and he surmised that Moody must have agreed to take on the Defence Against The Dark Arts post as no one else wanted it this year.

Dumbledore smiled at the students at the various House Tables and said "students, this is Alastor Moody. Very great friend of mine. No doubt you've heard of his fame as an Auror".

Moody waved it away as if it wasn't important "he has agreed to take on the post of Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher this year as a favour to me".

Before Dumbledore say any more Harry rose to his feet and clapped wildly at this news.

He was followed by all those who knew Moody and even many who only knew of his Auror cases.

Quite a few students though, mostly Slytherins, stayed seated.

Some students thought Moody to be mad based on the reports in the Daily Prophet while others didn't like him as family of theirs or people they knew had been imprisoned as Deatheaters or other Dark Wizards by Moody.

Moody waved politely in acceptance of the applause and went to take his seat at the head table.

Harry noticed Severus was staring at Moody warily and he knew that with Severus being a former Deatheater he was worried that the other man might curse him.

Moody however didn't even glance at Severus.

Professor Dumbledore stood behind his seat and said "before our feast begins I have a major announcement to make. The Quidditch season at Hogwarts has been cancelled for this year!".

He couldn't speak for several minutes as a sound like the buzzing of hundreds of angry bees filled the Great Hall.

Harry was furious. How could they cancel it?. He was sure Ron would have been playing Goalkeeper this year.

There was much shouting of "rubbish!" and even some "bullshit!".

Once the anger had quietened somewhat they were all hit with a bombshell "this is so an event not seen in a hundred years can take place here. It is called the Triwizard Tournament!".

The angry muttering changed to bewilderment as everyone digested this news.

Harry was stunned.

He'd heard of this tournament but never thought it would happen while he was at school.

"The Headmaster/Headmistress of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons will be bringing their best pupils to Hogwarts at the end of October. On the 31st the champions shall be chosen. That is all. You may dig in" he finished and spread his arms wide to indicate the feast had begun.

Harry had heard from his Dad that Moody didn't trust other alcohol not to have been poisoned or drugged and so he carried his own about with him everywhere.

As he began to eat some of his beef he smirked.

Moody had stabbed some chicken with his fork and was sniffing at it looking dubious.

Evidently his Dad's mentor must have thought it to be alright as he ate it.

After the feast ended Harry, Draco and the other New Marauders headed to their common rooms with the rest of the New Marauders bidding Luna a good night.

When they entered through the portrait hole giving the password for the term which was "Quaffle", Harry saw his and Draco's Sister standing in a corner chatting to the other First Years girls.

Two of them left as Harry and Draco approached but two of them stayed with her chatting and Harry guessed she'd made friends already.

She did have that capacity for it.

"Hey Sis" he said as he reached her and pulled her into a tight hug.

Once he'd finished hugging her Draco did so as well and then Harry turned to the other girls, extended a hand and said "hi I'm Harry".

Both of the girls turned red in the face and mumbled their names.

Harry laughed "no need to be nervous I don't bite and I'm really not that important" he told them.

After this pronouncement the two girls laughed and seemed to be themselves again.

They introduced themselves as Caroline "Carol" Bolton and Alexandra "Alex" Farmer.

He shook their hands as did Draco "if you three need help getting to any of the classes let us know. We know most of the shortcuts and we'll be happy to help as will our mates" Draco told them.

The other two girls thanked them as did Molly "hey it's the decent thing to do" Harry told them.

They then left Molly but not before telling her "we'll help you get to your classes tomorrow and find the Great Hall. It's not always easy the way the stairs change".

"Thanks guys" she said hugging them.

That night as Harry fell into bed he took a while to fall asleep.

Even though he was tired a thought kept circling in his head.

He felt there was something off about Moody tonight but he couldn't place what it was.

In the end he gave up and went to sleep.

* * *

Hey everyone. So that's summer completed the opening feast done.

Fourth Year or in Molly's case First Year, will start in Chapter Twenty Eight.

Don't forget to keep reviewing.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: The Potterverse and all characters belong to JK Rowling

* * *

Authors Note: This chapter will go through September

* * *

First Lessons, Blast-Ended Skrewts, Harry's Suspicions and an accident in Potions

* * *

Molly woke up early on her first day of classes.

She was too excited to stay in bed and could not wait to begin lessons that morning.

She had managed to learn the layout of the castle somewhat in the four days she'd been at Hogwarts.

She decided to head down to the common room and got quietly dressed before leaving the dorm and closing the door carefully behind her.

She spent the rest of the time until breakfast reading quietly in a corner as she brushed up on some of her subjects especially Potions which was her favourite.

At one point, Harry, Draco, Neville, Ginny, Luna and Hermione together with an exhausted Ron all trooped in through the portrait hole.

Molly knew from the letters her Brothers sent, that all of the group they called the New Marauders spent much time jogging in the early mornings to keep fit and healthy.

He and Draco walked over to her "alright Sis? what are you doing up at such an hour?".

Molly checked her watch and saw it was only seven am.

She looked at her Brothers and grinned "couldn't sleep" she told them "too excited for today".

Harry and Draco both grinned and Draco said "don't be too excited. I happen to know that First Years have Professor Binns on Monday's".

Molly frowned at the words of scorn from her Brother "is he really that bad?" she asked them.

Both of them snorted "he's the worst teacher here" Harry said.

Ron walked over closely followed by Neville "who are we all talking about?" he asked them.

"Binns" Harry and Draco said together.

Ron grimaced "oh god, he's awful. His lessons are a total snorefest" he informed Molly.

"Yeah. All he does is drone on and on about Goblin Rebellions. It's literally all he talks about and sets homework on" Neville added, picking some fluff from his t-shirt.

"Hi Molly" Hermione said coming over "who are you guys talking about?".

"Binns" the boys all said.

Unlike them Hermione's face didn't grimace "he's not really a bad teacher you know" she said "he's just stuck in his ways".

"Yeah and being a ghost he's not likely to change is he?" Ron said.

The boys all laughed. Hermione let out a huff and headed for the stairs.

"She doesn't like it when we rubbish teachers in front of her" Harry explained.

Molly couldn't understand this. After all, if a teacher was awful then people should be allowed to say so "it's just the way she was brought up" Ron defended.

"Better not tell her about the House Elves" Neville muttered.

The four boys laughed heartily at this and Molly asked "what about the House Elves?".

Harry looked around to make sure Hermione really was gone "she doesn't know they don't work for money at Hogwarts" he told her.

Molly laughed at this.

Hermione was ridiculously smart. How could she not know this?.

The first day seemed to go really well after that, save for the boring History of Magic lesson which she had been warned about.

They had been right.

All the ghost seemed to talk about was Goblin Rebellions. He never mentioned anything else like the Rise and Fall of Grindlewald or the First Wizarding War or anything.

She had decided by the end of that first day that it would be her least favourite subject.

By the end of the first week she had concluded that she enjoyed Potions, Transfiguration and Charms the most out of all classes but that she also quite liked Defence Against The Dark Arts, even though Professor Moody was rather scary and loud.

True to their word Harry and Draco showed her and her new friends Alex and Carol all of the secrets passages and shortcuts to get to lessons on time or anywhere in a hurry, something for which she was immensely grateful.

She felt after the first week that Hogwarts was even more interesting and wonderful than she had thought it would be.

She loved the ghosts flying around, she loved Gryffindor Tower, the Great Hall, the suits of Armour that danced on their own.

On the first Saturday of the term she'd even gone down to Hagrids cabin for tea and rock cakes with her new best friends (they'd turned down the rock cakes).

She was disappointed however that she would not get to watch her Brother play Quidditch this year.

Though she was excited to watch this Triwizard Tournament whatever it was.

* * *

The first two weeks back at Hogwarts were very busy for the New Marauders as they settled back into the routine of classes and homework.

The first incident of the school year happened on the second day back.

As classes had not yet begun on the second of September Harry and the other New Marauders were walking through the grass covered central courtyard.

As they were walking by a large oak tree a snide voice called out "Potter. Bet you were quaking in your boots at the World Cup!".

Harry sighed. Nott's taunts were now getting embarrassing.

He walked on and Nott called out again "what's the matter Potter? too afraid to face me?".

Harry turned around "no Nott I just have better things to do, like hang out with my friends and family" he grinned "don't suppose you want to hang out with your family though. What with them all being insane Deatheaters".

Draco and the others laughed at this, Harry turned his back on Nott and began to walk.

"You'll pay for that Potter!" Nott shouted.

He heard footsteps, the sound of a wand being drawn and then he heard "oh no you don't laddie!".

There was a popping sound.

Harry, Draco and the others turned round and saw Professor Moody standing nearby.

His magical eye was swivelling around in head but his real eye was glaring down at what appeared to be a ferret.

"That ought to teach you to try attacking people when their back's turned!" he growled out "lets see how you like it!" he began to bounce the ferret up and down.

When Harry and the others clued in to the fact it was Nott, they began to laugh uproariously while Nott's cronies Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy Parkinson stood and looked at each other in nervous confusion.

It was then that a loud voice cut through the laughter "what is going on here?".

It was Professor McGonagall.

She pushed through the mass of students and in her usual quick way surmised that the ferret was not a ferret "Professor Moody!" she exclaimed "is...is that a student!?".

Moody grinned "the little sod needed teaching a lesson not to attack people when their backs turned!".

"I demand you change him back at once!" Professor McGonagall almost shrieked.

Reluctantly Moody bowed to the request and changed the arrogant prat back to human form.

When Nott had picked himself up with help from his friends he glared at the DADA teacher and said venomously almost spitting out every word "my Father will hear about this!".

Moody's eyes narrowed.

He approached Nott who looked suddenly nervous and growled coldly "I knew your Father boy. I know what he was and still is".

Harry could tell that Nott wanted to reply but his fear stopped him. The Slimy Slytherin turned and walked away.

Harry, Draco and the others were just walking away when Professor McGonagall began her tirade against her colleague "we don't use Transfiguration as a punishment here Professor Moody!" she shouted.

A bit calmer she added "that's what we have detentions for. The next time you see any rule breaking you will bring it to the Head of House concerned, myself as Deputy or the Headmaster, is that clear?".

Moody mumbled something incoherent "I'm sorry?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Moody growled and replied "it's clear", he then stalked off looking grumpy.

* * *

The first Monday of the school year finally rolled around and Harry was feeling really excited as their last lesson of the afternoon was Defence Against the Dark Arts.

As Harry walked down to the Great Hall with Draco and the others, his hand firmly grasping Ginny's they speculated as to what Moody would teach them.

Knowing that he was an ex-Auror and paranoid about security Harry felt sure that whatever it was it would be very useful to them all.

Ancient Runes went swiftly and enjoyably and soon Harry and Hermione were joining Ron, Draco and Neville as they walked down across the sloping lawns to Hagrids cabin for their first Care of Magical Creatures lesson of the term.

"What do you think we'll learn about this term?" Harry asked the others as they walked down.

Ron grimaced "as long is it's more interesting than Flobberworms I don't mind".

This was the consensus from Draco, Neville and Hermione too and Harry found himself agreeing with them.

He had visited Hogwarts alongside Draco during the summer with their Parents and Molly to have tea with Hagrid.

Despite their best efforts and Molly's flattery, they had been able to find out nothing of their lessons for this year.

Harry's feeling was that this could either be a very good thing for them or very bad.

Especially given Hagrids feelings on what constituted "exciting creatures".

He well recalled Norbert who was actually a female dragon, that Hagrid had hatched in their First Year and which Harry and the others had risked detention to get to Ron's Brother Charlie as it was too dangerous for Hagrid to keep.

He also recalled the massive three headed dog Hagrid had ludicrously named "Fluffy" that had guarded the trapdoor in the Third Floor corridor.

And he had been told by Hagrid the story of his hatching out an Acromantula called Aragog that now lived in the Forbidden Forest.

Harry thanked his lucky stars he'd never had cause to go that far into the Forest before as he had a feeling he wouldn't like to meet such a creature.

"We should be careful about saying that we don't mind" Harry told the others.

"What?" said Neville.

"What I mean" Harry clarified "is that Hagrids idea of exciting creatures is usually very dangerous".

"That's true. Remember Norbert?" Hermione added.

They all grimaced.

Eventually they reached the boundary of Hagrids cabin and were surprised to see that on the floor lay a large number of wooden crates.

This would not have alarmed them, after all, anything can be kept in a crate.

The thing that unnerved them and the other students nearby was the constant rattling of the crates and the loud sounds of mini explosions emanating from said crates.

"Oh my god!" Draco exclaimed.

"What has he got planned now?" Ron said nervously.

Harry, Hermione and Neville simply eyed the crates uneasily and looked at them in concern every time they rattled.

"If it's some sort of venomous creature I'm off!" Neville declared to them.

"Alright you lot! settle down, settle down!" called out a voice.

Hagrid loomed in to sight wearing as always the long brown coat that he wore during most of the year "now I'll take the register".

Hagrid went through it and then put away the clipboard.

He surveyed the students with a smile "now I expect yer all wonderin what's in these crates" he said jovially tapping one crate with his hand.

As if an answer the crate rattle more noisily and more explosions could be heard.

A sarcastic voice easily recognisable as Nott called out "oh yes I'm **sure **we **can't wait **to meet them!".

Hagrid looked confused "err...well...yes...good" he replied frowning.

Harry glared at Nott but didn't say anything.

He was surprised when one of the Slytherins who he recognised to be Blaise Zabini spoke up for Hagrid "look Nott, some of us actually took this class because we enjoy learning about new creatures and have it in mind as a career, not just to pick fights" he said sensibly.

Nott glared at him "I might have known you'd pick their side with your Mother being a filthy..." he had no chance to finish.

Zabini had made a grab for his robes "finish the sentence and I'll finish you!" he snarled.

Harry watched as another Slytherin, Daphne Greengrass stepped forward and put her hand on Zabini's shoulder "leave him Blaise" she looked at Nott in disgust "he's not worth it the bigot" she told the black boy.

He calmed down and Daphne said to Nott "I'm on their side as well and I'm Pureblood Nott, some of us have commonsense".

Her and Blaise separated themselves from the other Slytherins and stood on their own.

Harry was surprise when another boy joined them casting a look of disgust at Nott.

He had the feeling that he was seeing a division in Slytherin, something he'd never have thought possible.

Hagrid began to open one of the crates and using gloves he carefully extracted something.

It was the most ugly creature Harry had ever seen in his life.

Harry was fairly certain from books he had read and pictures he'd seen, that it was a cross between a Manticore and a Fire Crab, though why Hagrid would have these and who would even think of crossbreeding...

'Oh!' said Harry's mind as it filled in the blanks and then added 'oh no!'.

He had just realised that this must be the secret that Hagrid had been preparing for this term, the "exciting" creature that he had for them to learn about.

Harry couldn't understand how Hagrid could possibly think it a good idea to crossbreed two dangerous creatures.

Judging by the looks on the faces of Neville, Ron, Draco and Hermione, the way their eyes widened and the way Neville and Ron took a step back, they had realised what the creatures were a cross of as well.

"What is he thinking?" Draco whispered.

Harry shook his head in disbelief.

'This was most definitely **not** what I meant when I said I wanted more interesting lessons!' he thought in exasperation.

"Now these little beauties here" Hagrid began.

Harry gaped at him 'that thing is definitely **not **beautiful Hagrid' he thought.

"Are called Blast-Ended Skrewts" Hagrid continued "I crossbred em meself durin summer!".

"Oh they're **lovely**" Nott drawled sarcastically.

Again, Hagrid looked confused "yeah they are aren't they" he said beaming after a moment.

Harry had to laugh at that.

Hagrid either knew Nott was being sarcastic and putting him down or not picking up on it and he could see the Slytherin was disappointed about this.

To Harry it looked like a deformed lobster with legs sticking out in odd places, it was black all over with red-orange markings and had a stinger at each end.

This in itself would have made the creature very odd.

But then as Harry looked more carefully he observed that the creature unbelievably had no visible head or mouth.

Once again his thought was 'what were you thinking Hagrid?'.

"Now I'm goin to divide ya up into groups of three, each group will take a Skrewt and endeavour to keep him alive not just today but for the rest of the school year" Hagrid told the dismayed class.

So they divided up.

Harry was put with Hermione and Ron, while Draco was put with Neville and Parvati while Dean and Seamus were, rather unfortunately, for them partnered with Lavender Brown who was nice but a bit vacuous.

"How the hell are we supposed to keep these things alive?" Ron hissed at Harry and Hermione.

They were as stumped as him "I guess we have to find some way of feeding it" Hermione replied logically.

Hagrid handed them lettuce and a number of other foods to give to the Skrewts but given the fact they didn't have mouths, it wasn't surprising that none of the students could manage to feed them.

And as if that wasn't bad enough the Skrewts would, at random intervals, produce tiny explosions that set the students on edge and made them wary of touching the volatile creatures.

Hagrid sidled up to him at one point and asked nervously "how am I doin?".

Harry, Ron and Hermione lied expertly "great Hagrid. You're doing great" they told him brightly and Ron even gave him a thumbs up.

Out of nowhere there was a loud bang and Neville shouted "ow!" as he shook his hand about.

There was smoke coming off of it "Professor Neville's been burnt!" Draco called out.

Hagrid turned pale and rushed over to him.

Harry, Ron and Hermione abandoned their Skrewt and followed him.

When Hagrid with Harry and the others just behind, arrived at Neville's side they could all see that Neville had a large angry red burn on his right hand "I was just trying to feed it and there was an explosion!" he explained to them.

"You'd better take Neville to the Hospital Wing Draco" Hagrid turned to Parvati "can you handle the Skrewt on your own Miss Patil?" Hagrid asked.

Parvati blinked, stared at the Skrewt and nodded in a resigned fashion.

As Draco and Neville walked off up the slope they called out that they'd see Harry, Ron and Hermione in DADA that afternoon.

At the end of the lesson Harry, Hermione and Ron said goodbye to Hagrid promising to visit that weekend and headed back up to the castle.

Once inside they immediately made their way to the Hospital Wing to meet Draco and see if Neville was alright.

When they got there they pushed open the doors to the Hospital Wing and heard the voice of Madam Pomfrey.

It was coming from the first bed on the left just inside the doors.

"How many times have I told Hagrid that certain creatures are not exciting they are dangerous?!".

They walked over to the bed and saw the Medi Witch wrapping bandages around Neville's hand "the magic in these bandages will heal the burns Mr Longbottom but you must make sure to keep them on until tonight. Take them off under no circumstances" she warned wagging a finger in his face.

She must have heard their footsteps as she turned "Potter, Weasley, Granger. Your friend Mr Longbottom is ready to leave" she looked at them sternly "make sure he follows my instructions" she told them.

"Thanks Madam Pomfrey" Hermione said.

Madam Pomfrey actually smiled "I don't know how you lot get into such situations".

Harry grinned "problems have a way of finding us" he told her.

They exited the Hospital Wing and handed Neville and Draco their school bags and the five of them headed for lunch.

The last lesson of the day rolled around and the New Marauders found themselves standing outside the Defence classroom as they waited for Professor Moody to let them in.

Ron and Neville were leaning against the wall looking bored while Harry, Draco and Hermione were in conversation with Dean and Seamus "how's Neville's hand?" Seamus asked.

Draco said "he'll be alright. There were some burns but Madam P put some bandages on his hand, she says it'll be healed by tonight".

"That's good" said Dean grinning.

"You guys have any idea what we'll be learning?" Dean asked the three of them.

Harry, Draco and Hermione all shook their heads "not a clue" Harry said "Moody's always been a bit unpredictable".

As if to demonstrate this unpredictability there was a loud bang and Moody came into view looking annoyed "why did none of you have your wands out?" he growled.

The students all exchanged confused looks and Hermione said "why did we need our wands out Professor?".

Moody turned to Hermione and shouted "CONSTANT VIGILENCE!" causing everyone to jump.

He then strode over to the classroom door, unlocked it and motioned everyone to go in.

Once the last student was in he closed the door, headed to his desk and went through the register.

Once everyone had answered he looked at them, he real eye glaring at each student while his magical one swivelled about madly.

"Books away" he told the ones who had their books out ready.

Everyone put their books away and he said "today we learn about something the Ministry thinks you are too young to learn about, but I say you need to know!".

He wrote on the board "Unforgivable Curses".

When he had done so he asked "who can give me the name of an Unforgivable Curse?".

Several students put their hands up, Moody chose Harry who said "the Killing Curse".

Moody nodded and chalked it up on the board "yes that is a particularly nasty curse which results in instant death, what other curses?".

Ron put his hand up hesitantly "yes Mr Weasley?".

"My Dad told me of one called the Imperius Curse".

Moody stroked his chin "ah yes the Imperius Curse, yes your Parents would know a lot about that" he said to Harry, Draco and Ron "it gave us at the Ministry a lot of problems a few years back, what is the final curse?".

Hermione put her hand up and said "the Cruciatus Curse".

Moody nodded solemnly "yes the Cruciatus. Possibly the worst of the three".

He chalked up both the Imperius and Cruciatus Curses on the board and then said "I'll demonstrate these three curses and what they do and then I want you to note the effects".

He took out a spider from a jar. Ron grimaced and looked scared.

Harry knew his friend was and probably would always be terrified of the creatures.

Moody placed the spider on the desk "the first curse is the Imperius, so named as it removes the free will of the person or animal subjected to it and forces them to do the casters bidding for as long as the spell is in place".

He aimed his wand at the spider "Imperio" he said calmly.

The spider was suddenly stock still as if waiting for orders "what should I order him to do?" he asked calmly "walk?" he laughed "dance?".

The class laughed for a time as the spider began to dance.

Moody directed the spider with his wand around the room causing shrieks and yells while Ron looked horrified as it landed on his desk.

Moody brought it back to his desk and hovered it over his glass of water "how about I order it to drown itself?" he said coldly.

The class stopped laughing and fell silent "you see now how insidious this spell is" he said seriously "the caster can make you do anything. He can make you dance, tell jokes, kiss someone" Moody's face turned grim "or he can order you to attack someone. A friend or a family member, the caster can ever make you kill them. It will be my duty in the next lesson to teach you to throw this curse off" he informed them.

Once the class had copied to parchment the effects of the spell Moody asked "is everybody ready to see the second curse?".

The class nodded. None of them were laughing or even smiling now.

"The second Curse known as the Cruciatus is used by many dark wizards to torture their opponents and even innocent bystanders and is in my opinion the worst dark spell bar none".

He aimed his wand at the spider and murmured "Crucio" the spider began to writhe in agony the spell hit it.

After a perhaps forty seconds of Neville looking steadily sicker Hermione shouted "stop it! can't you see how upset it's making us?!".

Moody stared at the students and released the spell.

The spider flopped onto the desk clearly struggling "the curse causes a feeling like an electrical charge to rage through the body plunging the victim into pure agony for as long as it is applied" Moody sighed "it is so vile that it can even cause a victim to lose their mind if kept under it's effects for long enough".

Harry glanced over at Neville and knew what his friend was thinking.

Harry had been told of the battle at Longbottom Manor and knew that Neville's Dad Frank and his Mother Alice could have been two such victims turned mad had his Dad and other Aurors not arrived when they did.

They students dutifully copied everything down and for many minutes the only sound that could be heard was the scratching of quills.

"Everybody got that copied down?" Moody asked.

The class nodded an affirmative and Moody said "right then, it's time to see the effects of the final curse, it is mercifully very brief but some of you may not wish to see it. If not then look away now".

Some students averted their eyes but many including Harry could not tear their eyes away "Avada Kedavra" Moody said calmly.

A sickening green light hit the spider as it attempted to limp away.

The creature stopped moving and Harry knew it was dead.

He felt sick.

* * *

That Tuesday morning found Harry and the others in their Potions class.

As always Professor Snape strode in, black cloak billowing behind him, hung up his cloak and surveyed the class with a smile "good morning class. Welcome to another year of Potions. Did you all have a good summer?".

Most students answered in the affirmative though some Slytherins didn't speak.

The class seemed to move on quite well as they were told what potion they would be working on and set out their equipment and ingredients accordingly.

It was halfway through the class when the accident happened.

Harry who was partnered with Neville was stirring the cauldron as Neville adjusted the amount of ingredients.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang.

Most of the class including Harry and Neville looked round wildly for its source before their eyes fastened on the side of the class where the Slytherins had worked.

It was clear something had gone horribly wrong with Crabbe and Goyles potion.

Professor Snape came striding over looking concerned and also a bit annoyed "what happened? why is this potion seeping everywhere?" he demanded.

Crabbe answered "my cauldron blew up Professor".

Professor Snape shook his head as he took in the sight of his House students covered in burning potion.

He put out the steam coming from them and instructed "you had all better go and get sorted out by Madam Pomfrey. Take your bags".

The Slytherin students left though not before the Professor added "I shall be speaking to you in my office tonight Mr Crabbe".

Crabbe nodded and walked out of the classroom painfully and with difficulty.

* * *

It was now the first Saturday of the term.

Harry had gathered the other New Marauders together to plan a prank on Nott and the other Slytherin students for the way they had treated Hagrid "now, it's got to be something different" he told them all "something we've never done before".

Everyone was silent in thought for a while trying to think up ideas.

Ron suddenly burst out "how about we replace their soap with Frog Spawn soap and place stink pellets in their clothes?".

Harry liked the idea instantly.

"I like it. It's new and funny" he declared.

"It gets my vote" Neville chipped in.

"And mine" Draco added.

"There's just one issue" Hermione said.

The four boys looked at her as if wondering what could possibly be the problem.

"What?" Harry asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes 'for talented wizards they can be really dense sometimes' she thought "well, how do we get into the Slytherin common room and up to the dorms without being noticed?".

"Simple" Ron replied "Polyjuice" he said.

"Are you crazy Ron!" Hermione hissed "I know we've done it before but it could go wrong. And besides we'd have to take ingredients from Professor Snape".

Harry shook his head and smiled "Molter!" he called.

There was a loud pop and the young House Elf appeared bowing to them "what is Master Harry needing?" he asked deferentially.

Harry scratched down a list of ingredients "Molter I need you to buy this. Head to our dorm room and take however much you need to buy it" he instructed before adding "and tell no one Molter".

Molter nodded seriously "I shall not say one word Master Harry. I'd die before betraying you".

Harry patted the elf's shoulder "I prefer you to live" he said.

Molter disapparated and Harry grinned at Hermione "see? simple".

In contrary to the response he'd expected his friend glared at him "I can't believe you are getting him to do this just for a prank!" she exclaimed.

"What's worse Hermione, getting Molter to pay for the ingredients or stealing them?".

Hermione bit her lip "it's still not right" she proclaimed.

"At least he's treated better than many House Elves" Ron said before he could stop himself.

Harry, Neville and Draco gazed at him in horror and Harry shook his head.

Ron unfortunately could be very dense sometimes and failed to pick up on the tenseness "what do you mean Ron?" Hermione asked curiously.

Before Harry, Neville or Draco could stop him he told her "well most House Elves aren't paid are they?".

"Ron!" Harry said through gritted teeth "shut up!".

Ron looked at him in confusion for a moment before understanding "oh" he said simply.

"Yes oh!" Harry snapped.

"They don't get paid?" Hermione said looking furious "you mean they're...they're...slaves!".

Everyone winced "it's more complicated than that Hermione" Draco tried to tell her.

"I don't care!" she shouted before storming out of the Room of Requirement.

Harry rounded on Ron.

He wasn't angry he just said "nice going idiot. Now she'll probably set up some organisation".

"I...I...I..." Ron stuttered.

* * *

That Thursday came the next Defence Against The Dark Arts lesson as a double period.

Harry was interested to see what would happen but also a little apprehensive.

A part of his mind continued to insist that something was up with his Dad's mentor and even though he pushed the voice down he still wondered.

As with their first lesson under Moody he tried to surprise the students by coming out the shadows, wand drawn and raised to fight.

To the older wizards satisfaction the students all had their wands out ready this time.

The lesson that followed was one of the most bizarre ones Harry had ever experienced.

It started off normally enough as Moody called up Ron and others to demonstrate what the curse could do to a human being.

Harry watched in amazement as Ron allowed a spider to crawl all over him, something he'd never have done in a million years.

Hermione did a series of cartwheels, Seamus danced, Dean recited poetry and it went on and on.

Harry was surprised he didn't get a go but then stood in a line with the others as Moody next declared "I shall now place the curse on each of you based on alphabetical order, your objective will be to refuse to do my bidding and throw off the curse. While under the curse I shall try to convince you to jump on this desk" Moody patted the desk for emphasise.

Most of the students were nervous about this while Harry felt determined to not fail.

Harry was not surprised when the vast majority of his fellow students stepped up and failed to resist.

A few hesitated which drew approval from Moody.

Finally it was his turn.

Harry stepped up in front of the desk, Moody said "Imperio" and the world began to grow distant as if he was no longer in control of his own actions, as if he had been shoved to the back of his own mind and the spell had taken charge.

A voice murmured "jump onto the desk".

Immediately Harry's voice answered "yes I will" and he made ready to jump.

At that moment though another voice asked sensibly "why?".

This gave him pause. Why indeed would he want or need to jump onto the desk?.

"Jump onto the desk" the voice came again "jump onto the desk" it repeated over and over.

Again Harry made to do so but the voice of reason was back "you don't need to obey you know. There's no need to jump onto the desk".

Moody's voice continued to resonate in his mind "jump onto the desk".

The voice of reason said "don't listen".

Harry decided to concur with said voice "no" he said in his mind "I don't think I will. I don't need to or want to".

Harry made the decision "no I won't jump on the desk".

Just then he felt a blinding pain in his kneecaps.

The spell began to lift and he looked down at his legs.

It seemed that he'd both went to jump and blocked himself from jumping with the result that he'd crashed into the desk knees first.

The pain was considerable "ow!" he said aloud.

"Good work Potter, very good!" said Moody approvingly as he helped him up.

Harry glanced at Moody who was looking round at the other students "Harry here has done exactly the sort of thing I expect" he said "I do not expect any of you to throw the spell off fully as yet but doing something such as Harry did is a good way to throw it partially off".

Moody tapped the side of his head "always try to listen to this. It will guide you well in throwing off the spell" he told them.

Just then, the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson and the end of the school day.

Moody called out "I want three foot of parchment on the effects of Imperio by next lesson and ways to block the curse from taking full effect".

As they headed back up to Gryffindor Tower Harry rubbed his knees which still hurt "I hope we don't have to go through that again" he grumbled.

The others agreed.

It had been a most bizarre lesson indeed. Not that Harry was shocked of course. Moody was after all a very unique individual.

* * *

Authors Note: This chapter is shorter than the last but I didn't want it to overrun too much as it would if I include anything else.

The next chapter will go from the beginning of October and will see pranks by the New Marauders and Fred and George and Lee Jordan, Hogsmeade, the arrival of the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, a shock and an argument.

Don't forget to keep reviewing as it helps me improve. Thanks for your continued support.


	29. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: I own nothing it all belongs to JK Rowling and I'm just a fan putting a spin on her work.

* * *

Chapter Twenty Nine: Slytherins Pranked, SPEW, Hogsmeade & Sinister Plots

The month of September had passed by enjoyably for the most part.

As October began Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville and Hermione were plotting a prank centred around frog spawn soap and stink bombs.

There was one issue interfering with said prank however. Hermione having been accidentally been told by Ron of the status of most House Elves had begun talking of setting up an organisation dedicated to fighting for House Elf rights.

It made Harry grimace.

He'd tried to tell her that most House Elves would merely see it as unwanted interference in their lives but she wouldn't listen. She could be very stubborn like that.

That Saturday, the first one of October, found most of the New Marauders putting together the last parts of the prank plan.

"The Polyjuice has been brewed" Draco told the others. He took out two vials of Polyjuice potion which he showed them "I decided to go with Crabbe and Goyle" Draco grinned mischievously "it was easy to get a hair from both of them" he said.

They all laughed "how is it going with getting the password?" Ron asked.

Neville smirked "I got Crabbe on his own and appealed to his stomach by offering him a massive bag of sweets" he told them all "he gave away the password no problem".

Ron got out parchment "the password for this term is Salazar" he informed his friend.

Ron wrote it down and set it aside "in that case all we need to do is get the Sleeping Draught into the two fat oafs".

"Should be easy enough" Harry said chuckling "they're not exactly known for their intelligence after all".

"I reckon we should carry the prank out next weekend what say you all?" Draco said.

Harry, Neville, Ron, Ginny and Luna all agreed happily to this.

They had just turned to the new subject which was Durmstrang Beauxbatons, when the door to the Room of Requirement appeared and in stepped Hermione closing the door behind her.

Harry and the others turned to her.

She was smiling which meant she was either happy about something or had something cunning going on.

All of the boys grimaced while Ginny murmured "we should probably be worried...right?".

Harry nodded as he stared at Hermione.

Their friend was putting down her school bag.

She rummaged inside it for a moment before pulling something out.

She walked towards them with the same smile plastered on her face.

"I hoped she'd given up on this!" Ron groaned.

Harry grinned.

He knew that Ron and Hermione's relationship was in it's very early stages and given how hot tempered both could get they had to be careful not to annoy the other.

"I'd say not supporting her in this would annoy her" Harry joked nudging his friend in the ribs.

Ron shoved back and laughed a bit.

"Hi guys how did the prank planning go? well never mind about all that, I've got something to show you!" she babbled excitedly.

She held up a white badge with the letters SPEW in black on it's front "SPEW?" Neville exclaimed before he could stop himself.

Hermione huffed "honestly Neville!" she pointed to each letter "it's not SPEW it's Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare!".

"But it still says SPEW" Draco pointed out. Hermione glared at him "look!" she snapped "it's all I could do at short notice!".

She handed a badge to Ron who looked uneasy "now" she said "who's going to contribute to the cause?".

Harry could see that his friend was embarrassed by the whole thing but Ron still made sure to buy a badge to show his support.

She also managed to convince Luna and Neville to buy one but Harry, Ginny and Draco all said "no".

"Why not?" Hermione demanded of them.

Both Ginny and Draco looked to Harry who asked silently "do I really have to do this?".

Draco nodded firmly "yes you do" he said aloud.

"Do what?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

Harry sighed, stood up and went over to his friend.

He put a hand on her shoulder "look Hermione, you remember what we told you about House Elves needing a master..." he began.

Hermione cut in "yes but surely they still deserve paying don't they?".

Harry nodded "yes they do but most Elves don't want to be paid and wouldn't take your money if you tried not unless they were ordered".

Hermione put her hands on her hips in a way that showed she was going to be challenging "your House Elves do!" she said.

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and glared at Draco and Ginny "of course ours do. We don't believe in slavery of Elves. They're like family to us which is why we give them money and time off" he responded earnestly "it's the same here at Hogwarts. The Elves are given a small salary".

"But..." Hermione began to argue. Harry threw up a hand to silence her "they don't want a larger salary. I asked them when I was younger and they said they had a good Master in Dumbledore, roof over their heads and plenty of work. They're happy Hermione".

"But...".

"Now I'm not saying other Elves don't need your help because some of them do very much and I'd be willing to help on two conditions" he told her.

Hermione nodded warily as if in thought "alright name them" she said.

"Well firstly we concentrate only House Elves who are being maltreated which includes ones owned by the Nott's for example".

"And the second?" she asked.

Harry took a look at one of the badges and grimaced "we get rid of this awful bloody name".

"There's nothing wrong with SPEW!" Hermione burst out indignantly.

"Yes there is Hermione it looks like spew which as you know is another word for vomit" he explained simply.

She looked at the badges and asked the others "is that true?" she asked them.

Every single one of them nodded in agreement with Harry and Draco added "why not change the name to Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to House Elves?" he suggested.

Hermione tossed some hair to the side and seemed to be pondering the suggestion. After a matter of moments she said brightly "SPCHE, I like it and if it stops people thinking of vomiting then that's an added bonus. Yes, SPCHE it is".

She turned to the others "everyone like the name?" they replied in the affirmative.

Hermione beamed and sat down "so how's the prank going?" she asked.

"We've just got to decide which day this weekend we do it on and we're all set" Harry told her.

She seemed happy by this news "have you decided who will keep watch over Crabbe and Goyle and who will go into the Slytherin dungeons?".

"Not yet" Neville said "we thought it best to wait until you arrived" he said.

Hermione beamed at this, clearly happy to have not been left out despite her preoccupations.

"Now I've placed a cross on five sheets of paper. Two people will infiltrate the common room as Crabbe and Goyle while three of us will keep close watch of the broom cupboard where we store the two goons".

Everyone seemed satisfied by this explanation and so Harry instructed "Ron pass round the bowl. Give yourself the first bit of paper".

Ron nodded and did so. He looked surprised when he unfolded his piece of paper "it's blank" he declared.

The bowl went to Draco who sat next to him. Draco unfolded the paper and said "blank".

It went to Ginny who shook her head "blank", then it went to Luna who said the same thing.

It reached Neville who took out a piece, unfolded it and said "there's a cross! I'm going in!" Harry grinned at his excitement.

The bowl went to Hermione who said "nothing".

And finally, it reached Harry who drew out inevitably the final piece of paper upon which was a cross.

"Right now we know that me and Nev" he grinned at Neville who grinned back "will do the most dangerous part. Lets see who will guard the cupboard".

He disposed of the paper with a wave of his wand, took out five more pieces and put crosses on three of them.

He placed them in the bowl, jumbled them about and passed the bowl round.

Once again Ron took the first piece. This time he grinned "there's an x" he said as he held up the paper.

The bowl went to Draco who declared "I've got an x" as Ron had, he held it up to show them.

That meant there was only one left.

Either Luna or Ginny would be involved.

Ginny took one next and saved Luna the trouble "yes!" she exclaimed and held up the paper to reveal a black x written on it.

Luna looked disappointed and Harry relented "you can keep watch by the broom cupboard for us Luna" he told her seriously "if you see any Professors approaching you need to signal Ron, Draco and Ginny and ensure they can hide. They won't mind you being near the cupboard since you are the most innocent looking one out of us all" he said.

Luna smiled, threw a salute and said "got it boss".

Harry and the others chuckled.

Harry and Ginny decided to head off on their own and as they walked down through the grounds towards the Black Lake she said "that was really very sweet of you you know".

Harry looked at her in bemusement "what?" he asked.

Ginny smacked him on the shoulder "to include Luna of course!".

They sat down, their backs against the ancient oak tree and cuddled up to each other "she's a New Marauder just like the rest of us" he said grinning and then added seriously "she deserves to be included".

Ginny cuddled to him even closer and they sat there for a long while just relaxing and enjoying each others company and the sound of the birds twittering overhead.

* * *

The second Saturday of October found the New Marauders implementing their prank.

The initial stage was about to begin and would see Crabbe and Goyle being tricked with food laced with Dreamless Sleep potion, the same trick used in Second Year only this time instead of for information it was being used for fun.

Right now Draco, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were watching and waiting near the same broom cupboard in the entrance hall they'd used last time.

It was so chosen thanks to it's close proximity to the Great Hall and the need for the two rather daft Slytherins to pass it on their way to the Dungeons.

"I hope they stop stuffing their faces and hurry up" Ron complained.

Draco grinned.

Ron never had been one for waiting much despite his strategic genius.

"Someone's coming out!" Ginny hissed to them.

They fell silent and watched from their hiding place.

It turned out to be Fred and George Ron's older Brothers.

They seemed to be deep in conversation as they passed the hiding spot under the stairs "you know what you're suggesting is illegal right?" Fred said.

Draco, Ron, Ginny and Hermione pricked their ears up in curiosity at this.

Draco couldn't imagine them blackmailing anyone "he brought this on himself" George reasoned "we made a bet with Bagman, he lost, he should cough up".

The Twins stopped on the second stair "but George he has a lot of friends in the Ministry. If he talked to them it could get very hairy for us".

"I know but we're in the right" George replied.

Judging by their footsteps The Twins had resumed their walk up the staircase.

"I can't believe it" Ron muttered shaking his head "Mum will kill them if she finds out".

Ginny grimaced adding "and now we know too. If we keep silent she'll know and interrogate us".

Ron sighed "and if we tell Fred and George will probably pull some horrible prank on us".

Ginny grinned "on you maybe. I'm off limits remember?".

Ron scowled "yeah I know".

Ginny laughed "don't worry I'll stop them if they do anything" she assured her older Brother.

Ron flashed her a grateful smile "thanks Sis" he replied.

She smiled too "hey we youngest Siblings need to stick together".

"What was that?" Ron said.

"Footsteps" Draco whispered.

The four of them grinned widely as they saw two rather large students, one with short curly hair and the other with short straight hair exiting the Great Hall. It was Crabbe and Goyle.

They watched on in amusement as the two students, who were chatting about something, paused in front of the two pasties that had been left on the floor.

In truth Draco had been very sceptical of the idea that even Crabbe and Goyle would be gross enough to eat something that been on the floor.

His scepticism proved to be groundless though as the two Slytherins smiled "I love pasties!" Crabbe said joyfully.

The two boys knelt down, picked them up and began stuffing them into their mouths as if trying to swallow them whole.

They stood there for a few moments chewing the food.

They then began to move on only to fall down with a thump one after the other as the Sleeping Draught in the pasties took effect.

The four New Marauders under the stairs, sprang out quickly and dragged the two Slytherins into the broom cupboard.

They then headed off to take up their positions as look outs for Harry and Neville who by this time would be nearing the Dungeons.

"It is too easy with those two" Ron laughed.

Hermione and the others laughed too "how did they get a place here being that stupid?" Hermione asked.

This caused fresh laughter.

* * *

Harry and Neville were indeed nearing the Dungeon common room and both were feeling very nervous about it.

They enjoyed pulling pranks and they were sure the results of this one would be hilarious but even so they knew if they were caught disguised as Crabbe and Goyle and trying to enter the Slytherin common room that the consequences would be very severe.

At the very least the two of them would be put in detention couple with a loss of points. They could even end up being expelled.

Harry brushed these fears away as they reached the hidden entrance to the common room.

Just then, disaster struck. A voice called out "where have you two been?".

It was Theodore Nott.

The arrogant prat approached them casting an eye over them "we were eating" Harry in his guise as Goyle, said.

Nott rolled his eyes "figures" and then added "do you two never stop eating?".

Nott chuckled "well never mind all that. Lets go into the common room. I wanted a chat with you two".

Harry froze.

This was not something they'd been counted on.

The Polyjuice only lasted for a certain amount of time.

If they went over it they would start to change back and in the middle of the Slytherin common room was not, shall we say, the best place for this to happen.

Neville came to their rescue "we're feeling a bit queasy" he mumbled "too many desserts".

Nott smirked at them "I always said you would one day eating so much".

He turned to the hidden door to the common room and said "Salazar".

The hidden doorway appeared. Nott stepped forward and the door swung open to admit the three of them. Nott strode in confidently while the disguised Harry and Neville entered side by side casting wary looks at one another.

They reluctantly followed Nott over to a grouping of comfortable leather chairs and sofas set in a corner of the room and Nott motioned for them to sit.

In order to avoid suspicion and gathering that Crabbe and Goyle did whatever Nott told them, they sat down though Harry couldn't help but let slip a grimace which caused Neville to elbow him.

"What's up with you?" Nott remarked casually as if not really interested.

"Stomach ache" Harry replied.

Nott smirked and then said "I called you both over because I have a plan for getting back at that Mudblood bitch Granger" Harry made to stand up only for the more level headed Neville to push him back down and silence him with a look that plainly said "don't be an idiot".

Harry calmed down. Thankfully Nott was so self absorbed he'd seen nothing.

"And not just her, Harry perfect Potter those other Blood Traitors Weasley, Longbottom and Black" he grinned "I've spoken to Pansy and Milicent and they're both in".

His face fell "Zabini refused to help as did Greengrass. We'll have to watch them" he said darkly.

His face lit up again "so, the plan. We're going to corner Potter, Granger, Weasley, Black and Longbottom. incapacitate them and drag them off to a secluded spot for a bit of...fun!" he told them gleefully.

Harry felt sick and was sure it showed on his face.

He could see Neville was just restraining himself from whipping out his wand and cursing the snob.

"Right. Well, that's it" Nott waved them away "off you go" he said Imperiously.

Harry and Neville, grateful to get away, headed for the Fourth Year boys dorm where they would carry out their prank.

After hearing all about the horrific plans Nott and his cronies had for the New Marauders Harry wanted nothing more than to tear back to the Entrance Hall, find the others and make sure they were on guard.

They had though, put much time and effort into this prank and it suddenly seemed to Harry that it had taken on an extra meaning.

It would be a sort of preemptive strike against those Slytherins that wanted to do them harm.

The only thing Harry was grateful for was that Ginny, Luna and Molly hadn't been mentioned.

He felt that he could handle things if it was just the five of them in danger.

They managed to carry out the prank itself with surprising efficiency as Harry replaced all of the soap that Nott and co used with Frog Spawn soap and Neville placed stink bombs in their clothes.

Neville had one nasty moment when a boy he knew to be Blaise Zabini, entered the dorm room looking for something.

The boy cast a disdainful eye over Neville/Crabbe and then left after taking a pack of playing cards with him.

Neville breathed a sigh of relief, placed the stink bombs, met up with Harry and the two of them hurried at high speed from the dorm room, through the common room and out of the Slytherin Dungeons.

When they reached the Second Floor girls bathroom they found to their relief the potion beginning to wear off.

In a few minutes they were back to normal and changed back into their usual Gryffindor robes.

Not only did Harry feel exaltation at pulling off the prank he also felt relief at not looking like Goyle any more and that they would be able to warn the others of Nott's sinister plans.

They were joined in said bathroom by Hermione, Draco, Ron, Ginny and Luna.

"How'd it go?" Ron asked excitably.

Harry and Neville grinned "it was a bit hairy for a moment" Harry said.

"Yeah. Nott cornered us as Crabbe and Goyle but he didn't cotton on" Neville assured the others as they looked momentarily worried.

"We managed to get the stuff in place" Harry told them all "I think the Slytherin Fourth Years will be having a few problems tomorrow" he finished innocently.

"They will, shall we say, be smelling a lot" Neville smirked.

The two high fived each other.

"I can't wait to see the results of it tomorrow!" Draco said enthusiastically.

Hermione, Ginny and Luna as well as Draco high fived Harry and Neville and Ginny kissed Harry briefly on the lips.

After a few more moments of celebration Harry cleared his throat "there's something else we need to tell you all" he informed the other New Marauders.

He glanced at Neville who sighed "we should take them to the Room of Requirement, right?".

Harry nodded seriously "it's too chancy to say it where someone might overhear".

Despite the obvious bafflement of the other five New Marauders, they all followed Harry and Neville up the various stairways and along several corridors before finding themselves in front of the amusing tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.

They moved across to the wall near it and passed by three times as Harry thought very hard about the room they needed.

A solid wood door with a wrought iron handle appeared.

Harry pushed the door open, ushered them all inside, cast a look round to make absolutely sure they were alone and then closed the door behind them knowing that the entrance would hide itself until they were done.

He had chosen for such a serious revelation a room with much comfortable furniture and to that end, the room contained several fluffy armchairs and sofas.

The New Marauders took their positions up with Harry sitting next to Neville and Ginny squeezing in on Harry's left side while Ron and Draco took armchairs facing Harry, Neville and Ginny and Hermione took a sofa all to herself.

The other five New Marauders all looked confused as to why they had been dragged up there, given the prank had apparently gone so well.

"What's the problem, Harry, Neville?" Hermione asked in her usual perceptive way.

Harry and Neville glanced at each other "me or you?" Harry asked.

Neville demurred and Harry taking a deep breath began to speak "well as we were saying in the bathroom the prank went well but before that we got waylaid by Nott".

Harry looked over at Neville who looked angry "obviously he thought we were Crabbe and Goyle so he told us that he and some cronies were planning something very nasty for us" he swallowed as his mouth felt very dry.

He asked the room for a glass of water and one appeared on a side table.

Shakily, Luna asked "what sort of nasty thing?".

Harry looked at her grimly but it was Neville who answered "they plan to trap us all, knock us out and then torture us".

"WHAT!" Ron shouted in shock and fury.

Harry and Neville sighed "they want revenge on us for all of the times we've bested them" Harry told the others.

Looking to his left he noticed Ginny had gone pale and was gripping his arm tightly as she stared at him in concern "then we need to take the fight to them" Draco said fiercely.

"I have a better idea than that" Hermione said calmly.

Harry had always admired her ability to analyse most situations so well "what do you suggest?" he asked.

Hermione smiled "simple. We set a trap for them. Bait if you will. They go after us and we ensure a Professor or several Professors see and they end up in detention for months, if not outright expelled" she grinned.

"You are a genius Hermione!" Ron exclaimed happily.

Hermione blushed. A blush which deepened as the others all complimented her.

"We don't have much time to discuss this now" Harry told them all as he checked his watch "lets get some dinner and we'll talk about it tomorrow yeah?".

Everyone agreed that this was a sound idea and so the New Marauders headed off from the Room of Requirement.

Unlike when they went in though, they were now keeping a very close eye out for danger.

They had no idea when the Slytherins would spring their trap.

They could be lying in wait for the New Marauders at that very moment.

* * *

The following morning which was a Sunday, found all of the New Marauders in the Great Hall eating breakfast.

They were laughing and joking as usual while keeping an eye out for the Slytherins.

They had already decided to head up to the Room of Requirement and discuss everything in secrecy to make a plan of attack.

It had already been agreed by everyone that they needed to launch a strike on the Slytherins before they could carry out their own plan.

As Harry munched slowly on some cornflakes he heard the sound of people shrieking and yelling and tadpols moving about.

He knew the first part must have already worked and thus the second would soon come into effect.

Indeed, as the hysterical Slytherins hopped about madly trying to get the tadpols away from them they must have accidentally set off the stink bombs hidden in their clothes as a horrendous smell, wafting over from their table engulfed the Great Hall, some students ran away holding their noses, others made fun of the Slytherins, laughing and taunting.

The Slytherin Fourth Year boys for their part ran from the Great Hall shouting.

Nott was declaring it loudly to be an outrage while Crabbe and Goyle were slapping each other trying to remove the tadpols.

Harry, Draco and the others all laughed long and loud until there were tears running down their cheeks and their faces and ribs ached.

As they left the Great Hall and made for the Seventh Floor Harry felt that he hadn't had such a laugh in months.

But now it was on to more serious matters.

As they plopped down in their seats in the Room of Requirement they began to make a plan.

"The biggest thing we have on our side is the element of surprise" Ron summed up as ever the tactical and strategic genius "I believe that Nott and Co hate us so much that they would be willing to risk everything to capture us".

"I see where you're going Ron" said Draco taking up the conversation "one of us acts as a decoy to get the Slytherins into trouble and ensure that they find it too unwise to act this way again".

Ron nodded "exactly".

Harry knew immediately that it had to be one of the older one's in their group, not that he didn't trust Ginny and Luna with it but if it went wrong he and the other Fourth Years were more able to defend themselves.

Harry opened his mouth and was about to say "it should be me" when a voice cut in "no Harry don't even think it".

It was Draco.

He glared at his Brother who just looked at him placidly "it's a stupid idea and you know it" Draco said simply.

"Draco's right Harry you're far too obvious" Hermione added "it has to be someone Nott's not squared up to before. Someone he'll underestimate".

"I'll do it" Neville said resolutely.

"Nev you don't have anything to prove" Harry told his friend.

Neville said with steel in his voice "I know but I'm the obvious choice. I can defend myself and yet Nott has never seen me fight. He'll get careless. If we get him to back off then the others will too" he told Harry.

Harry looked at the others and saw nods of agreement.

Harry shrugged "okay so be it. But we'll be watching just in case" he said seriously.

Neville grinned "I wouldn't expect anything less from you guys".

* * *

The following Saturday was a Hogsmeade weekend.

Harry usually wouldn't be too bothered about visiting it as he'd been there several times before in his childhood, but this time was different.

Today would be the first time he'd be visiting Hogsmeade with Ginny as his girlfriend.

They'd been dating now since the end of Harry's Second Year and he was eager to show everyone how much he cared for her and that this wasn't just some passing attraction.

He remembered when he'd told his Dad of his true feelings about her.

He'd expected his Dad would laugh when he said this given how young Harry was but to his surprise his Dad had just ruffled his hair and remarked "what is it with us Potters and redheads?".

Harry was grinning at the memory when a voice cut through to him "earth to Harry. Hello?. Big Brother?".

He felt something hard smack him on the arm and came out of his reverie "ow!" he exclaimed glaring at the source of the attack.

It was his Sister Molly "Ginny is ready you prat!" she said in exasperation.

Harry grinned sheepishly "oh, thanks Sis" he ruffled her hair and she shouted "hey don't do that!" smoothing it down.

"So what are you going to do with your day?" Harry asked her. He saw her blush and frowned "you aren't seeing some boy are you?" he demanded protectively.

Her blush deepened "so what if I am?" she replied "you began dating Ginny when you were only twelve".

"That was quite different!" he exclaimed.

"How?" she asked.

"I..well...it...it just was!" he replied feeling flustered "who is it anyway?".

His Sister sniffed in annoyance "if you must know...it's Neville" she said snappily.

Harry gaped at her, getting the feeling that he looked very much like a goldfish "Neville!" he shouted in shock "not...not...Neville as in my mate Neville?".

His Sister laughed "how many other Neville's do you know at Hogwarts and much less in Gryffindor?" she replied mirthfully.

"Where is he?" Harry demanded.

"Harry you leave him alone!" she snapped.

"Why?".

"Because I asked him!" she said hotly "alright?. I asked him on a date. He refused at first because of you!" she poked a finger at Harry's chest "but I told him it was none of your business".

Harry opened his mouth to reply but Molly got there first "and it isn't, so keep out of it unless I ask!" she told him before storming off.

He caught sight of Neville waiting at the portrait hole.

His friend cast him a look that plainly said "I'm sorry" before Molly dragged him through the portrait hole and to god knows where "Mum and Dad will kill me!" he moaned in despair.

"Why so upset love?" a voice asked.

He turned around and saw Ginny looking beautiful as ever in a red sweater and blue jeans.

She smiled at him. He sighed "it's my Sister" he told her.

"Don't tell me you're hung on her going on a date with Neville" she said in amusement.

"Mum and Dad told me to protect her. If things don't work out and she gets upset I'll get the blame!" he said in frustration.

Ginny took his hand "no they won't because Molly will explain what happened. Don't get involved Harry. Don't be so overprotective".

Harry sighed again "alright I'll stay out of it" he promised, before adding "for now anyway".

* * *

Harry and Ginny handed their permission slips to the ever sour Argus Filch and walked hand in hand through the gates and down the lane towards Hogsmeade.

When they were halfway there Harry asked "where do you want to go first love?".

Ginny stopped to consider it "I'd love to go to Dervish and Banges and get some pranking supplies" she said with a grin.

Harry laughed and kissed her on the lips "I knew there was reason I was with you my love" he said as they resumed walking.

Up ahead Harry could see Draco and Luna walking and chatting happily and he smiled "it's great those two are together" he remarked.

Ginny agreed "their perfect for each other".

Behind them Harry could hear arguing.

It was Ron and Hermione. "Do those two ever stop?" Ginny exclaimed in half amusement and half annoyance.

Harry shrugged "not in all the time I've known them" he smirked "I sometimes think they enjoy it" he told her.

Ginny laughed loudly and Harry joined her.

As they entered the joke shop Harry was greeted like an old and valued customer (which of course he was) by the owner Mr Dervish.

He was an elderly gentlemen with short grey hair and a thick grey moustache "my dear Mr Potter so good to see you back again!" he exclaimed wringing Harry's hand.

"Hello Mr Dervish" Harry replied politely. He introduced Ginny "this my girlfriend Ginny Weasley" he told the old man.

The man bowed and shook her hand "delighted to meet you Miss Weasley" he said beaming.

"We'd like to buy some pranking supplies" Harry told the man whose face lit up "ah but of course!" he said happily "the Son of James Potter is always warmly welcome here. Feel free to browse and all your purchases shall be half price" he told Harry who protested this.

The old man though was adamant "Mr Potter, your Father and his three best friends virtually kept us in business during their time at Hogwarts. I am only too happy to return the favour".

They spent a wonderful few hours going around Dervish and Banges where they purchased various prank products including dung bombs, stink bombs, hand buzzers and itching powder.

After leaving the joke shop they spent the rest of the morning going round the various other shops including a stop at the local branch of Eeylops Owl Emporium giving Harry the opportunity to buy some owl treats for Hedwig and Ginny also buying some for her.

They had just left the Hogsmeade branch of Flourish and Blotts laden with shopping bags when Harry glanced at his watch.

To his amazement it was already twelve thirty "blimey it's already midday!" he exclaimed "where's the morning gone?".

"Ginny kissed him on the cheek "passed by enjoyably with the bloke I love" she declared.

He kissed her on the lips.

His stomach rumbled loudly causing Ginny to chuckle "hungry are you?" she teased.

"Ravenous" he replied joining in the laughter "why don't we get some lunch and find a spot to eat it?".

Ginny considered for a moment and then nodded "I like the sound of that. Why don't we buy some sandwiches and eat them against that tree overlooking the shrieking shack?" she suggested.

Harry nodded his agreement to this "perfect plan" he said and the two headed off to the bakery, their arms weighed down with bags.

In the bakers they purchased two ham and cheese toasted sandwiches and some drinks and then headed off for the tree chatting happily.

That lunch was the most enjoyable that Harry had ever had as he cuddled up to Ginny and they talked of anything and everything from Hogwarts to Quidditch and all manner of things in between.

Harry yawned as Ginny snuggled contentedly in his arms "you know Gin Gin, this is the happiest I think I've ever been" he said happily.

It seemed Ginny couldn't resist teasing him as she asked "does that include playing Quidditch?".

He guffawed loudly and then added with a smile and serious words "yes it does".

She kissed him on the lips, a kiss that lasted a long time.

When she broke the kiss she said "I love you with all my heart Harry James Potter".

Harry murmured blissfully "and I love you as much and more Ginevra Molly Weasley".

As they sat there basking in each others warmth and love Harry felt happy that for one day at least all the worries and cares of the world had been left behind.

* * *

Authors Note: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter will begin from late October and will include the preemptive strike on the Slytherins, the arrival at Hogwarts of the students of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang and a shock Triwizard Champion all while Harry's suspicions about Moody grow.


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything except my original characters including Lucy & Molly

* * *

Authors Note: Hello to all my wonderful readers, reviewers and favouriters out there. I can't believe we've reached chapter thirty. Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter Thirty: Preemptive Strike, Guests Arrive, Champions Chosen & Harry Suspects

The latest week of school had gone by very swiftly and for the most part had been very enjoyable.

He enjoyed his various lessons with the exception of History of Magic and had spent much time out of classes with his friends, Brother and girlfriend.

They hadn't even had to deal with Nott and his cronies that week which was a welcome relief.

It did make it clear to Harry however that Nott and his cronies were definitely about to carry out some dastardly plan to hurt them and thus their preemptive strike plans had been accelerated.

That Saturday morning found not just the New Marauders but also Fred, George and Lee Jordan in the Room of Requirement being appraised of the plan "so it's agreed then" Harry concluded looking round at the others "Nev will antagonise the Slytherins causing them to pursue him" Harry flashed a smile at his friend who grinned back "he's agreed to let them attack him until we bring in the Professors. They get punished and forced to cancel their plots in fear of further punishment".

"It's a bold plan Harry" Fred or George said.

"But they might hurt Neville worse than you think" finished George or Fred.

Before Harry could reply to this sensible concern Neville had got there first "I'm not scared of what they do to me guys" he told the Twins "we need to do something now before their sinister plan comes to fruition".

The Twins conceded the point and Harry clapped Neville on the shoulder "so it's all agreed then" he said.

Everyone nodded or voiced assent though Harry could see that Molly who'd also been invited was looking worried about the whole thing.

Harry couldn't say he was surprised as the two had been spending more and more time together that week outside of classes.

The afternoon arrived and the New Marauders plus Fred, George and Lee were all waiting concealed, except for Hermione who was to bring Professor Snape to watch as the Slytherins targeted Neville.

Harry was glade that his virtual Uncle was a good man who would put a stop to this barbaric plan by his students.

He shuddered to think what could have happened if his almost Uncle was a biased man.

They waited for a few moments and saw Neville was in position.

He flashed Harry the thumbs up.

Nott and his cronies exited the Great Hall.

Pansy Parkinson and the others were laughing, no doubt at some witticism of Nott's.

They almost passed by Neville when he called out to them "hey cowards!".

As one, the students turned to glare at him "yeah that's right I called you cowards!" he told them bravely "you think you can just plot and scheme against us and get away with it? you're just as bad as your Deatheater Parents!".

Nott and the others were approaching Neville now.

Crabbe and Goyle were cracking their knuckles menacingly while Parkinson had her wand out and was aiming it at Neville.

As they reached Neville who never took his eyes off of Nott's, Nott said coldly "get him".

Crabbe and Goyle fell on Neville.

He tried to hold them off but their bulk overcame him.

They began to punch and kick him while Parkinson fired off a few spells to bind him.

Once he was bound, Nott approached and began to punch and kick Neville while pointing a wand at his chest.

Harry and the others heard loud urgent footsteps and he was relieved to see Severus come into view looking concerned at first and then furious "what is the meaning of this?!" he shouted in outrage as he looked at the Slytherins.

"Now" Harry whispered to the other New Marauders, Lee, George and Fred.

They all moved from their hiding place and walked towards the scene of action "what's happened Professor?" he asked.

Professor Snape looked at him. He looked serious "I regret to say your friend Mr Longbottom has been attacked Harry" he told Harry sounding upset "and I regret to say that it was my students who are responsible".

In a moment, Harry and the others had whipped out their wands and were aiming them at Nott and his cronies.

"There will be no more fighting" Professor Snape announced calmly.

He glared at his Slytherins "Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Parkinson, you will all receive a months worth of detentions, the suspension of Hogsmeade visits for the rest of the school year and I shall be writing to your Parents about this. I also am shocked to say I must dock my own house eighty points".

The four Slytherins looked dumbfounded at the decision and Nott who clearly did not know when to shut up, shouted "my Father will stop this! it's an outrage!".

Harry watched in satisfaction as Professor Snape approached the arrogant prat and said rather coldly "you tell him boy. I dare say he will be embarrassed at his so called "sophisticated" Son setting upon another student using Muggle fighting techniques" he quirked an eyebrow up "so by all means write to him".

Nott's face turned even more red. He spluttered and seemed unable to speak "get back to the Slytherin common room you four" Professor Snape told the Slytherins "I shall speak with all of you later about the details of the detentions. Be off with you!".

The four Slytherins slunk away looking suitably chastised.

"You'd better get Neville to the Hospital Wing Harry" Professor Snape advised "I don't think he'll need to be kept in but she'll want to see him".

Harry smiled "thanks Professor".

He and the others guided Neville away to the Hospital Wing and on the way there Harry remarked "you Nev have nerves of steel".

"Yeah I don't know how you stood up to it" Draco agreed with a smile.

Neville, despite his busted lip and black eye, grinned widely "I'm willing to do anything to keep my friends safe" he told them all.

Harry felt so touched by the sentiment that he drew Neville into a hug that was joined by everyone else.

Harry was proud of Neville that next day and his pride widened to include happiness when he and the others learned of just what punishments had been meted out to Nott and Co for their disgraceful attack on a fellow student "Nott's been set to helping Filch clean all of the schools toilets and bathrooms without magic for the next month while Crabbe and Goyle will have to help Snape prepare various horrible creatures for his Potions work and Parkinson has to clean every single trophy, case and the floor of the Trophy Room" Hagrid informed them as they had tea with him that Sunday afternoon.

Harry and the others couldn't help their grins at such news "this should teach Nott not to mess with us and keep out of our way for the rest of this year" Ron said fiercely.

"He knows what we can do now" Hermione said sipping her tea "he won't risk plotting anything else now".

"Especially when Professor Moody can turn him into a ferret" Neville said with a smirk.

At these words Harry's mind turned to his Fathers old mentor.

He still had the feeling that something was badly wrong with the man and he didn't think it was the usual paranoia.

He just felt that something was off about Moody.

He hadn't told anyone of these fears as he had no real proof but he had the feeling that there was something else in the flasks out of which Moody drank.

Something in the flasks that wasn't alcohol.

So far he'd not had the chance to find out conclusively and until he did he had resolved to say nothing.

The lessons with Moody had got more and more bizarre though as Moody had this week been teaching them how to avoid the Killing Curse by way of using their reflexes and casting shields.

If Harry didn't know any better he'd say that Moody was behaving like a Deatheater for he couldn't think of any reason why someone on the light side would know how to cast such spells.

He was certain he must be wrong though as his Dad, Godfather and Dumbledore were all great friends with Moody and he knew that none of them would ever be friends with a Deatheater.

* * *

The Thirtieth of October had rolled around and as Harry got up he had the feeling it would be quite the enjoyable day.

Breakfast was a loud and enjoyable affair as he, his friends, girlfriend and Brother all discussed the students of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons who would be arriving that evening for the Triwizard Tournament "what do you think they'll be like?" he asked them "I mean, I know Beauxbatons is in France and Durmstrang in Bulgaria but I've never been to either country".

Ron looked around "Dad says that they teach the Dark Arts at Durmstrang" he confided in a low voice "they turn out a lot of dark wizards and witches".

"Oh Ronald honestly!" Hermione said in exasperation "just because a few are bad doesn't mean they all are!".

Ron shrugged "just saying what I heard is all" he mumbled as he picked up a piece of toast.

"I hear that some of the female students at Beauxbatons are part Veela" Ginny told them all "I read it in a book on the school from the Hogwarts Library".

"God I hope they aren't" Harry groaned.

He recalled his embarrassing moment at the Quidditch World Cup Final along with Ron and the other men who had been so captivated by the Veela mascots that they'd stood up on the ledge at the front of the box "you'd better not behave like that again Harry Potter!" Ginny warned him.

He gaped at her "how did you know what I was thinking?" he blurted out in surprise.

Ginny grinned "our romantic bond of course" she said casually "I always know what you're thinking".

Harry couldn't believe it.

It was bad enough having Draco read his thoughts and feeling but with Ginny doing the same he'd never have any space for himself and much as he loved the pair of them he did need space sometimes.

The rest of the day went well.

Harry had an enjoyable lesson in Charms with him successfully getting right the incantation for a heating charm and receiving praise and five points from the diminutive Professor Flitwick.

In Transfiguration they were set to the task of transfiguring a chair using a pile of wood.

Hermione managed it her first go to little surprise as did Draco while Harry and Neville both did it the second time round. Poor Ron only got it half right and ended up with a chair that had a broken seat.

After a free period and a fun lunch where they spent time planning a school wide prank, it was time for Potions.

As Harry entered the Professor Snape's cold dungeon classroom he was intrigued to note that while most of the Slytherins were sat with Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass were both sat at the opposite end of the desks as far away from them as possible and were receiving sneering looks from the others.

As Harry passed Nott he and the other New Marauders received scowls from him and his cronies.

Harry merely rolled his eyes and ignored the pettiness. He had a lesson to focus on and getting good grades was more important than some rivalry.

As he took his seat he received nods of respect from both Greengrass and Zabini.

He recollected that neither of their Parents were or had been Deatheaters and he felt that he could trust them.

He nodded back and then turned his attention to Professor Snape who was writing on the chalkboard "now class, today I will be teaching you how to make a potion for removing scars, blemishes and cuts from your skin" he tapped the chalkboard "if you turn your attention to the board it has all the necessary instructions. If you need help, raise your hand and I will endeavour to assist you".

The class went on as normal after that, minus the usual sneering comments from Nott. Harry, Draco and Hermione all found the potion easy enough to brew from following the instructions.

It also helped that Hermione had made sure they read all of their textbooks from cover to cover during the summer to make sure they knew everything.

The only two of their group to require help were Neville and Ron who'd never been particularly great at potions.

With help from Harry who helped Ron and Hermione who helped Neville they managed to make good potions if not outstanding ones.

Harry noted as well that most of the other Gryffindor's did quite well although Seamus needed a bit of assistance which he received from Draco.

Halfway through the lesson just as Harry was stirring the potion in his cauldron as per instructions there was a loud explosion from the other side of the classroom.

Every one of the Gryffindor's plus Zabini and Greengrass stared over in the direction of the sound and could see that Goyle's cauldron had blown up again.

'It doesn't matter how much help he gets he's still a dunderhead' Harry thought in amusement.

He glanced at his Brother and saw that Draco was smirking.

Harry had another thought 'dunderhead? oh god! I'm beginning to think like Uncle Sev!'.

"Which of you caused this?" the Professor demanded of the Slytherins.

Goyle rather painfully raised his arm. Professor Snape rolled his eyes "you idiot Goyle! you could have hurt everyone here!" he turned to Crabbe "Crabbe! take Goyle to the Hospital Wing to be checked over. You are excused from the rest of the lesson" glaring at Goyle he declared "I also think a ten point deduction is in order and a lecture on safety to be conducted this evening after the feast" he waved Goyle and Crabbe away who picked up their school bags and left.

To glares from the other Slytherins for losing ten points and loud guffawing from the Gryffindor's at amusement from the incident.

That afternoon at four thirty the bell rang throughout the school to signify the end of the classes for the day.

Harry, Draco, Hermione, Neville and Ron ran all the way up to Gryffindor Tower, gave that terms password which was "King Arthur" and entered the common room through the portrait hole.

They passed numerous other students from both Year Five and above and Third Year and below, all of them chatting animatedly about their soon to be visitors and what they'd be like.

After they deposited their bags in their dorm rooms the New Marauders waited in the common room for Fred, George, Lee Jordan and Ginny.

They then walked happily down the various staircases to the Entrance Hall.

Harry had his hand grasped firmly in Ginny's.

When they reached the Entrance Hall they heard a familiar, slightly dreamy, voice call out "hey guys. Glad I found you".

They turned and found their friend Luna Lovegood coming towards them.

She hugged Ginny and Hermione and took Draco's hand.

The whole group of New Marauders then shuffled out into the grounds and took up their positions in the long and very large group of students and staff that had gathered to meet their esteemed guests.

Harry saw that the occasion had drawn the owl like Professor Trelawney down from her tower room.

He was grateful that she did not spot him as he recalled being told of her ominous predictions last year by Ron and Neville.

Hagrid was standing near them wearing an ugly brown suit, his hair slicked back into a manageable state.

"Alrigh you lot?" he asked jovially.

They all said they were and Harry asked "Hagrid why the suit?".

Hagrid smiled "well, got to look me best haven I?".

Harry grinned.

He heard a flap of wings and asked Draco "can you hear that Bro?".

Draco nodded and frowned "yeah but I can't see where it's coming from".

The whole school were now directing their attention up to the overcast sky trying to spot the source of the noise.

For many minutes nothing could be seen to indicate the noise but then the flapping of wings became louder and louder and louder!.

Suddenly, through the clouds burst what looked to be a carriage flying through the sky pulled by several horses.

Harry couldn't see any detail until it got closer.

As it got nearer to the castle and began to descend he noted that it was all white with gold trim.

As large as a house and pulled by the largest horses that Harry had ever seen in his life.

He realised in alarm that the carriage's trajectory would carry it to a very close distance to the waiting staff and students.

The carriage neared them and most people were forced to duck to avoid being hit.

The carriage circled once around the school as it began to slow.

It descended lightly to earth and came to a rest near the front of the castle.

In moments, a man in a blue waistcoat and brown boots rushing to open the carriage door and place steps for the carriages occupants to step out.

The students trailed out one by one. Mostly girls and but some boys as well.

The girls surveyed the castle disdainfully as though it was beneath them.

That made Harry angry.

He was pleased to note that the boys however seemed much more interested in their surroundings.

Once the students had exited the carriage, large footsteps could be heard from within and out stepped the tallest person Harry had ever seen and he counted Hagrid in that.

He could not even begin to guess her height but given the way she towered over everyone else he knew she had to have some giants blood in her.

He noticed that she was wearing a long blue dress with sequins and a mock fur coat and despite her height she walked gracefully past her students who fell into line behind her.

As she reached Professor Dumbledore she bent down so he could kiss her hand.

He did so with a beaming smile "Good evening Madam Maxime and what a pleasure it is to see you here at Hogwarts" he said warmly.

The woman smiled "it is good to see you Dumbleydore" she responded in English but with a heavy French accent "but my gods it is chilly out ere!" she added as she pulled her coat closer to her.

"These are my students" she declared, gesturing behind her at the various boys and girls who stood waiting respectfully.

Dumbledore bowed to them and they bowed back "it is good to see all of you" he said jovially and then to Madame Maxime he asked "shall we wait out here for Professor Asimov or would you prefer to head inside?" he asked kindly.

Madam Maxime considered the question for a moment before replying "I think we should wait for them. It would be the height of bad manners to go in without them".

Dumbledore smiled at her "courteous as ever" he said warmly.

The students of Beauxbatons stood in a row on either side of their Headmistress who stood next to Dumbledore and everyone waited with baited breath for the students of Durmstrang.

"Isn't Professor Asimov a dark wizard?" Neville asked.

"Nothing was ever proved" Hermione told him quietly.

It didn't take long before a loud splashing sound could be heard on the nearby river.

"What's that?" Ron asked in confusion.

"Probably nothing important" Harry replied.

He was soon proved wrong as the splashing continued and got closer and closer and then with a loud crashing sound a ships mast emerged from the deep river much to the amazement of everyone present who began to talk loudly about it.

In a few more moments the rest of the ship emerged and moved up to the shore.

Steps were thrown down on the bank and boys and men in heavy fur coats and cloaks and wearing fur hats, strode down the steps onto the riverbank and waited.

Harry noticed they were all carrying magical staffs and assumed that it must be something they were taught to use at Durmstrang.

Soon two men appeared.

One looked young. He was not wearing a fur hat and Harry could see close cropped hair and dark eyes.

The man looked around in interest in his surroundings but was soon chivied on by another older man wearing a black fur hat.

The older man was tall and had a weasel like face.

As the older and younger man approached trailed by the students the older man greeted Dumbledore warmly but to Harry falsely "ah Dumbledore it is good to see you again my friend!" the man said through crooked teeth.

Harry disliked him immediately feeling there was something false about him.

Dumbledore smiled though this seemed forced "likewise it is good to see you again Asimov" he declared as he shook the mans hand.

The older man pushed forward the younger man that Harry recognised with a start was Victor Krum the Bulgaria international Seeker "this is Victor our chosen Champion" Asimov informed Dumbledore who looked surprised at the choice having been already made.

Harry glanced at Ron and rolled his eyes.

His friends eyes had grown as large as dinner plates and he was mumbling "Krum. Victor Krum. Here. At Hogwarts".

Harry smirked "a bit starstruck Ron?" he quipped, causing everyone else to laugh.

"Who wouldn't be?" Ron answered still staring at the Bulgarian in complete awe.

"Ah my dear Madame Maxime. How good to see you" Asimov said as he kissed the tall woman's hand.

Harry could tell that she did not like the man much "shall we all move inside then?" Dumbledore asked "we have a large feast prepared in honour of your visit".

He received assent from the other two Heads and together they walked up the steps and in through the large double doors to Hogwarts Castle, followed by the students and staff including Moody who gave Harry a funny look for a moment.

Once everyone reached the Great Hall they began to take their seats with the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students spreading themselves out cautiously at the various House Tables.

To the utter delight of Ron, Victor Krum chose an empty space on the Gryffindor table and Hermione had to elbow the redhead to stop him staring like a devoted puppy.

Once they were all seated Professor Dumbledore appealed for quiet and began his speech "esteemed guests of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, staff and students of Hogwarts, please give a warm welcome to the organiser of our great event "Cornelius Fudge recently appointed Head of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry of Magic!".

In strode a man clad in a hideous lime green striped suit wearing an equally hideous green bowler hat.

He was smiling widely at the students and staff who reluctantly clapped for him as he strode between the House tables towards the Staff table "even us Irish don't like that much green" Seamus joked causing all the nearby Gryffindor's to burst out laughing.

Once he was seated Dumbledore again asked for quiet and announced "and now one of our judges, a man who will also commentate for the various tasks "Mr Ludo Bagman!".

There was a roar of sound as Ludo Bagman entered the hall.

Most students and many staff were on their feet cheering and applauding him.

Bagman smiled widely and genuinely and waved at his admirers.

He shook hands with Dumbledore, exchanged a few words and sat down next to a sour looking Fudge.

"And now that our two esteemed guests have arrived..." Professor Dumbledore turned to Argus Filch "Mr Filch if you please" he gestured.

Filch strode over to something covered in a large purple cloth and proceeded to carefully remove said cloth.

Most people in the hall gasped in awe at the object that was revealed.

It was a large metal basin on a stone stand.

Professor Dumbledore strode down to it and explained "this is the Goblet of Fire. Using this we shall determine who the Champions will be that will compete in this latest Triwizard Tournament".

He looked around sternly at the students "in view of the dangerous nature of the tasks involved in this tournament myself and the other judges with full agreement from Mr Fudge have come to the decision to only allow students seventeen and over to compete as these students are adults and better understand the risks".

Harry thought it sounded very sensible and reasonable but evidently the Weasley Twins didn't agree as they shouted "rubbish!" very loudly and many others yelled their disapproval.

"Silence!" bellowed Dumbledore angrily "this measure has been taken to protect the lives of the students and to ensure it is not disobeyed I shall be drawing an age line around it to prevent students who are too young from entering!" he aimed his wand at the base of the goblet, murmured a few words and a fine white circle appeared around the goblet "no one who is under seventeen may now cross this line" he told everyone before adding "any student of eligible age who wishes to enter their name has until the beginning of the feast tomorrow night when the Champions will be chosen".

He looked very serious now as he declared "but be warned, this tournament is not for the faint of heart. The tasks involved will tax mind and body thoroughly. You must be sure you are willing to take such risks. Fellow witches and wizards, as of now the Triwizard Tournament...has begun!".

* * *

At breakfast the following morning there was much talk and speculation on who would enter.

"I heard Cedric Diggory's entering for Hufflepuff" Hermione informed them as she poured milk on her shreddies.

"A Hufflepuff!" Ron exclaimed "Hogwarts would be a laughing stock!".

Harry rolled his eyes at this pronouncement.

"I heard Angelina is going to put her name in!" Neville said excitedly.

That made Harry happy. He really hoped a Gryffindor would be picked or at least that it wouldn't be a Slytherin.

"Wouldn't it be great to win all that prize money" Ron said dreamily.

Harry shifted guiltily. He was always wary discussing money with Ron given his family didn't have much "uh...yeah" he said noncommittally.

That day went about as normal as any day could go at Hogwarts.

Harry had fun lessons in Herbology, Defence Against The Dark Arts and a very dull lesson in History of Magic where he took the chance to get some sleep.

Afternoon lessons had been cancelled due to it being Halloween and Harry was picked up by his Dad for their annual hour long trip to the graveyard of the Godric's Hollow church where they spent the hour tidying it up, placing flowers, talking and reminiscing.

Harry returned to Hogwarts late that afternoon after having lunch at Marauder Manor and met his friends in Dumbledore's Office "you'll never guess who's going to try to enter!" Ron said enthusiastically.

"Who?" Harry asked intrigued.

"Fred and George!" Ron exclaimed.

"But they aren't old enough are they?" Harry said.

"No they aren't" Ginny chipped in.

"So?" Ron said stubbornly.

"So Ronald it won't work!" Hermione said in exasperation.

It was evident the rest of the New Marauders had been talking about this for several hours since he'd left.

"Hermione's right you know Ron. They'll never get away with it" Harry reasoned.

Ron just grunted and Harry rolled his eyes at his friends stubbornness.

The group of New Marauders entered the Great Hall to find several Seventh Years adding their names into the Goblet.

Harry saw Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff put his name in as did Angelina Johnson who high fived one of her friends and looked quite confident.

Then Fred and George stepped up. Harry noticed that the two redheads were each carrying a vial of something milky coloured.

He glanced at Draco who was good at recognising potions "an ageing potion" he told Harry.

Harry sighed, grinned and leaned back to enjoy what he was sure was about to happen.

Fred and George got claps on the back and cheers from the students as they downed the potion.

Fred or George (Harry couldn't tell which) said "shall we?".

The other Twin nodded and they jumped over the age line.

They high fived each other and grinned at the other students.

Harry was surprised and about to clap himself when he saw Hermione's grinning face "wait for it" she said in a voice of suppressed mirth.

The Twins were just about to put their name's into the Goblet when there was a loud bang and they were flung backwards out of the circle, coming to rest near Harry's feet.

Harry gaped in surprise as did most of the other students.

Fred and George then stood up and looked each other up and down.

Harry couldn't help but burst into a hearty laugh at the sight before his eyes.

The Twins had not only been expelled from the circle for being too young, the ageing potion they had consumed in conjunction with the age line had caused them to actually age.

They now sported long white hair, long white beards and had white hair sprouting from their ears.

"Oh...oh help!" Harry guffawed "I can't..." he burst out laughing again.

"It's your fault!" one of the Twins shouted.

"It's bloody not! it's your fault!" the other one shouted and in a moment the two of them had tackled each other and were rolling about on the floor.

Draco must seen who was approaching before anyone as he jabbed Harry in the ribs "huh?" Harry said and then looked at the doorway.

Approaching the two brawling wizards was Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

Far from looking angry however he looked thoroughly amused as he took in the scene before him "well well well" he said smiling "what do we have here?".

"They tried to enter the Tournament Professor" Hermione revealed.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled and hauled the two boys up "did I not tell you what would happen?" he said in amusement.

The Twins looked sheepish "can't blame a guy for trying" one of them said hoarsely.

Dumbledore chuckled again "indeed not Mr Weasley" he replied "you two had better see Madam Pomfrey. We don't allow students in their seventies to study here" the Headmaster quipped causing all of the other students to laugh loudly.

* * *

The evening rolled around and it was time for the Halloween feast.

Harry was in two minds about it.

One the one hand he didn't like Halloween just due to what had happened thirteen years ago but on the other hand he was itching to find out just who had been picked to be the Champions for each school.

His really hoped Angelina would be the Champion for Hogwarts as he liked her and she was a very capable witch though to be truthful he'd be happy with anyone provided it wasn't a Slytherin.

As he and the other New Marauders entered the Great Hall for the feast and the choosing of the Champions he noted that the large Goblet was ready near the steps leading up to the Staff table.

As he sat down in his usual place he once again caught Moody's eye and noted that his Dad's mentor was giving him a very funny look.

He shook it off and focused on Professor Dumbledore who was now waiting to speak "we shall eat first and then have the choosing of the Champions" he announced "tuck in".

Mountains of food and drink appeared and included many foreign dishes that Harry had never seen before.

He presumed the House Elves had been instructed to serve some Bulgarian and French delicacies to make the students feel more at home at Hogwarts.

As he pile potatoes and meat onto his plate together with many vegetables he saw Hagrid chatting away happily to of all people Madam Maxime.

He grinned as he recognised the look in his friends eyes.

There was no mistaking it. Hagrid fancied her.

The feast went by happily as most people enjoyed the varied foods on offer all except a few of the Beauxbatons girls who seemed to turn their nose up at the British foods while choosing the French ones.

Finally the dessert bowls and plated vanished and the food portion of the feast was ended.

Harry and everyone else in the room sat and waited with mounting anticipation as Professor Dumbledore moved slowly from the Staff table down to the Goblet and declared "I shall now reveal who the three Champions are for Durmstrang, Beauxbatons and Hogwarts respectively" he informed everyone "when I call your name please exit the hall through this side door" he motioned to a door on the left side of the room that was open and waiting for the Champions.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, waved his wand over the Goblet and murmured the incantation.

The fire inside the Goblet changed from a dormant blue to an aggressive red. It hissed and spat and a piece of parchment containing a name flew out and fluttered down into the old wizards outstretched hand.

Dumbledore unrolled it and read out "the Champion for Durmstrang is Mr Victor Krum!".

There was great cheering and applause from the Durmstrang students and from it's Headmaster who looked delighted and polite applause from most others in the room.

Krum stood up and headed over to Professor Dumbledore and Mr Fudge he shook their hands before exiting the room through the open door.

"And now the Beauxbatons Champion!" Dumbledore called out.

Once again the Goblet spat out some parchment which Dumbledore caught "the Beauxbatons Champion is Miss Fleur Delacour!" the Beauxbatons students cheered and clapped loudly as did many of the male Hogwarts students. Harry didn't as he was mindful of Ginny staring at him and in any case he found Ginny just as attractive.

Once Fleur had disappeared through the door Dumbledore called out "and finally, the Hogwarts Champion is..." the parchment floated down "Mr Cedric Diggory!".

Harry felt disappointment as Diggory stood up acknowledging the cheers and clapping, shook Dumbledore's hand and went through the open door "I wish it was Angelina" Harry said.

"Me too but we should support him anyway" Hermione reasoned.

Harry found he couldn't argue with this.

Dumbledore called for silence once more and began to speak "so there you have it fellow wizards and witches. Our three Champions have been chosen and all that remains is for them to prepare for..." he was distracted by someone tugging at his robes.

He looked to his right and saw it was Severus "yes Severus?" he said.

"Headmaster...the Goblet" was all Severus could say.

Dumbledore looked at the Goblet and stared in open mouthed disbelief.

The Goblet had turned red once again and spat out **another **piece of parchment!.

Feeling dazed and confused by this turn of events the old wizard unrolled the parchment and stared at the name on it for several moments, clearly unable to comprehend what it said.

Eventually his decided it wasn't a dream. He was truly reading the name.

He called out loudly "Harry Potter!".


	31. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to JK Rowling except for my original characters such as Lucy & David.

* * *

Chapter Thirty One: The Fourth Champion, An Unfamiliar Name & Molly's Birthday

A death like silence hung over the hall after the words were pronounced.

As if everyone was at a mass funeral gathering there was complete and total silence.

No one spoke. No one mumbled. The only sound in the hall was the dying of the flames in the Goblet and the rise and fall of people's chests.

Harry felt like he was in some awful nightmare as Dumbledore pronounced the words "Harry Potter!".

He couldn't understand it!. He'd not put his name in the Goblet!. He couldn't have done due to the ageing line.

And even if he had had been able to cross said line and put his name in he had no wish to be in the Tournament.

From all that he knew of the Triwizard Tournament it was incredibly dangerous.

In any case he had more than enough attention heaped on him for being the "Boy Who Lived" so the last thing he needed was more publicity and the inevitable declaration of many that he had cheated his way into the Tournament.

From far away a voice spoke again "Harry Potter!".

He couldn't believe this was all happening!.

'Surely they'll understand right?' his brain reasoned 'surely they'll know I didn't enter myself'.

Then his mind turned to Ron.

His best friend wasn't going to take this news well.

His friend was very good at hiding it but Harry knew that Ron didn't like Harry being so famous and getting so much attention.

He was going to have to go straight to Ron and explain...

A booming voice cut through his thoughts "HARRY POTTER!".

Harry snapped his head up at the sound and his eyes connected with Professor Dumbledore.

He sat, frozen in place. Rooted to his seat. His legs unable to move.

Slowly and shakily he stood up and gazed round the hall.

Everyone was staring at him. The Gryffindor's while looking surprised general seemed to be happy he'd been chosen while the Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaws were all staring.

Only Luna on the next table was flashing Harry a reassuring smile.

He smiled back weakly.

He felt a hand grasp his hand and squeeze it reassuringly.

Ginny stood up and kissed him, whispering in his ear "I know you didn't put your name in".

He smiled at her feeling grateful for the support.

As Hermione pushed him into the aisle between the tables and he began to walk on spaghetti legs up to the steps where Dumbledore stood, his Brother came through on their mental link "we'll find out who did this Brother I promise. This isn't fair on you".

He turned back and flashed a grateful smile at his Brother who smiled back.

The muttering began. He couldn't make out the words but could tell most of it was angry. It was like he'd invaded a bee hive and all the bees were gearing up to attack him.

Another horrible thought crept into his mind 'Ron!'.

What the hell was he going to say to his best friend?.

How could he make Ron believe that he didn't want to be in this stupid Tournament?.

As he reached the steps he could see the faces of all of the Professors as they sat or in some cases stood at the Staff table.

Most looked shocked.

He could see that Professor Moody was frowning while Hagrid was gaping in shock, clearly unable to comprehend what was going on and his Uncle Sev was struggling to keep a lid on things.

"Through the door please Harry" Dumbledore said in a remarkably calm voice given what had happened.

Harry felt someone grasp his arm. He looked up and saw his Head of House Professor McGonagall.

He was surprised to see there were tears in her eyes. Looking stern but sounding kind she said "come along Harry" and pulled him over to the open door.

"Go into this room and I'll see you soon" she assured him.

His stomach twisting painfully and his throat as dry as sandpaper Harry stepped through the open doorway and moved slowly across the room to where the three Champions were standing.

The only light in the room came from two small candles and the bright fireplace in which the orange flames seemed to dance.

As he passed some empty display cases he could see Victor Krum brooding in a corner.

Fleur Delacour was adjusting her hair and Cedric Diggory was staring into the flames as if deep in thought which, Harry supposed, he probably was.

The three Champions must have heard his footsteps as they all turned and looked at him "what is it?" Fleur asked in a heavy French accent "is there a problem?".

"What's wrong you look like you've seen a ghost?" Cedric commented.

"I...I...the Goblet...it..." Harry was at a loss for words.

What could he possibly say "hello I'm Harry Potter. I'm the fourth Champion" it even sounded ludicrous in his head.

There was no way he could compete in such a Tournament. Surely the organisers and judges would agree?.

Before Harry could try to say anything more loud voices could be heard. Angry voices.

He didn't have to guess very hard who they belonged to as in moments, Professor Asimov, Madame Maxime, Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall, Professor Dumbledore, Ludo Bagman and Mr Fudge filed into the room.

Professor Asimov was shouting "this cannot stand!" he declared furiously.

"Asimov is right Dumbledore he is too young!" Madame Maxime declared hotly but more calmly.

Fleur, Cedric and Victor were all staring at him now in the same disbelief as the many students and staff had had after his name was read out.

Professor Dumbledore approached Harry asked sharply "Harry did you put your name in that Goblet?!".

Harry was so shocked anyone could ask such a thing that for a moment he was struck dumb. A few moments he declared honestly "no Professor".

"Did you have another older student do it for you?" the old wizard asked.

Harry looked at him in anger "I would never do that Professor!" he said sharply "I don't even want to be in this Tournament!".

"A likely story" scoffed Asimov "who wouldn't want the money, the fame and the glory that goes with winning?".

Before Harry could say anything to this an angry voice retorted "Mr Potter has never sought fame or glory. He had no choice in being labelled the Boy Who Lived and I've seen enough of my student to know he hates that title!" Professor McGonagall said leaping to his defence "in the matter of money his family is rich beyond imagining so he has no need of ten thousand galleons".

She flashed a rare smile at Harry.

He smiled back, feeling grateful that someone was fighting his corner in this matter.

'Now if I can just get them to remove me from the Tournament' he thought desperately.

"Potter couldn't have done it" Moody growled "it would take a very powerful wizard with much experience to pass the age line".

"My colleague is quite correct" Professor Snape added "Harry couldn't have done it and in any case someone would have had to put a spell on the parchment to fool the Goblet into thinking Harry is older than he is. It is a spell no student would know".

"What...what are you saying?" Professor McGonagall asked in shock.

Professor Snape sighed "I'm saying Minerva, that an adult must have done it and judging by Harry's reaction...done it without his consent".

Harry nodded at these words.

"What do the rules say Cornelius?" Professor Dumbledore asked the round man in the green suit.

The Head of Magical Games and Sports seemed to consider for a while being answering and his answer dashed all of Harry's hopes "I'm sorry but the rules are quite clear...once someone is chosen they must compete. There can be no exceptions and no getting out of it".

Tears began to form in Harry's eyes "but can't you see I don't want this!" he practically shrieked.

He broke down in tears and was quite useless for several minutes as Professors Snape and McGonagall moved to comfort him.

Once he had calmed down and the tears abated Mr Fudge stepped up and looked at each one of the Champions "the first task shall take place on the 24th of November. I'm sure I don't need to tell you all but do as much preparation work as you can. Until then". The man bowed to everyone and exited the room.

Ludo Bagman remained for just long enough to exclaim "four Champions well I never!" and then followed his boss from the room.

"I am not happy about this Dumbledore!" Asimov said furiously "if I had known you'd get two Champions I'd have brought more students with me! come Victor!".

The two Bulgarians left the room.

"I am not happy at all Dumbleydore" Madame Maxime declared and she and Fleur left the room.

Cedric merely shook Harry's hand and left, his face not betraying any emotion.

"Meet us in the common room" a voice came through his mental link.

"Will do" Harry answered his Brother.

"The feast will be finished now Harry so I suggest you head up to your common room" Professor Dumbledore said kindly and then added "and I'm sorry you have to compete. I know it's not something you want to do".

Harry sighed "I'll just have to do my best" he said miserably "thanks Professor".

Professor McGonagall led him from the room into the now deserted Great Hall.

"Thanks Professor I think I can make my way from here" he assured his Head of House.

She gave him a concerned look but then said "if you're sure Harry. Good night" and left him.

Harry strode out of the Great Hall.

As he was making for the stairs a voice called out "didn't think I'd go up without you did you?".

He grinned widely feeling happy for the first time since his name had been called out.

Ginny walked up to him, kissed him on the cheek and drew him into a long and warm hug.

Harry sighed in contentment and she murmured "it's going to be alright Harry".

When she broke off the hug Harry looked into her eyes and asked in worry "what's Ron's mood like?".

Ginny huffed "that idiot. Everyone's up in the common room now trying to convince him you didn't mean it. Except Fred and George".

Harry looked at her in horror "please tell me they haven't thrown a party" he said desperately.

Ginny smiled apologetically "oh god" Harry mumbled, shutting his eyes.

Ginny took his hand and stroked it "it'll be fine love. Don't worry. We'll convince my prat of a brother together and I'll get those idiots to stop this party".

Harry opened his eyes and said "I love you so much" he kissed her and then they walked hand in hand up the staircases to the portrait of the Fat Lady and gave the password "King Arthur".

Harry took a deep breath and the two of them entered the common room side by side.

As they entered they were assailed by a wave of sound.

It seemed that most people were in a joyous mood at the idea of a Gryffindor being one of the Champions.

Harry spotted Neville and walked over to him "Nev" Neville looked grim "I hope you know...".

Neville put a hand up "it's alright Harry. Me, Draco, Ginny, Luna and Hermione are in full agreement that you didn't enter your name and you don't want to be in the Tournament".

He sighed "but that prat Ron won't listen to us. You're going to have to speak to him Harry. Get him to see sense".

Upon hearing this, one part of Harry was outraged 'why should you talk to him?' it said 'it's not your fault he's a prat who won't listen'.

Another, stronger part of his mind, however, pushed out the negative thoughts and insisted 'he's your best friend. You've know him since you were a year and a half old. Speak to him'.

"Alright I will. Just get me through these people" he said to Neville who nodded, pointed his wand to ceiling and fired off an air horn spell.

The noise was deafening and distracted all of the students for just long enough that Hermione was able to switch off the stereo, glare at the students and say "look, Harry doesn't want to be in this Tournament and he's not celebrating. Leave him alone and let him head upstairs".

Most of the students were now silent and staring at her in disbelief. While others looked at Harry as if unable to believe he didn't want to be in the Tournament.

Just looking at the faces of many he could tell they thought he had entered his name on his own.

"I know a lot of you won't believe it but Hermione is telling the truth. I didn't enter my name in the Triwizard Tournament, I don't want to be in it and I don't want any more fame than I already have".

As he turned to leave her heard someone mumble "yeah right" it was Seamus.

He turned back to glare at the Irish wizard and was about to tell him to sod off only for Ginny to get there first "you think what you want Seamus but Harry hates the fame and just wants people to leave him alone so just back off!".

Seamus looked worried as Ginny tapped her wand menacingly and pulled Harry up the stairs towards the boys dorms.

When the pair of them reached the Fourth Year boys dorm the door was closed and locked and it was clear Ron didn't want to talk to anyone but Harry knew it couldn't wait.

Ron may be a prat sometimes but he was his Brother in all but blood and he refused to fall out with him over this Tournament.

"Alohamora" he murmured as he pointed his wand at the door.

The door unlocked and Ginny pushed it open. The two of them entered and his girlfriend shut it firmly behind them.

She also threw up "Silencio" the Silencing charm to keep their inevitable argument private.

Harry could see Ron sitting on his bed just across from his own. His best friend had a strange look on his face that was part smile, part grimace and he was making no movement except to blink occasionally.

Harry sighed and approached him "Ron" he said softly.

Ron pretended he didn't hear him so Harry said the name louder "Ron".

This time Ron looked up with the said odd expression on his face "oh, hi" he said overly cheerful "thought you'd stay downstairs for the party".

"You really think I want a party?" Harry asked.

Ron shrugged "well...you entered your name in the Goblet without telling me" he said.

Harry shook his head "no Ron I didn't" he insisted.

Ron laughed but it wasn't his usual happy one, this laugh was hollow, mirthless "you don't have to lie to me Harry I'm your best mate" he said "just tell me how you did it".

Harry was about to snap when he felt Ginny's hand in his. His anger subsided as quickly as it had flared up "why won't you believe me Ron?" he said sounding hurt "after all we've been through".

Ron glanced up at him "because you always have to be the centre of attention. Always have to be number one at everything! do you know what that money would have meant to me?" he demanded "it would have meant I could have helped my family out so we wouldn't be so poor!".

"Look Ron I don't want to be in this stupid Tournament" Harry shouted "I hate being in the public eye you know that. I don't need the money and I'm already revered for something I didn't really do. What do I need to do to convince you I don't want this?".

Ron's eyes lit up as if hitting on an idea "we go to Dumbledore and ask to use his pensieve. We view his memories and if the memories show you don't want in then I'll apologise. I promise".

Harry supposed it was the best plan they had. He knew what his memory would show and he had no problem letting Ron see it.

Harry unlocked the door and the three Gryffindor's headed down to the common room where he told Draco, Hermione, Neville and Molly what was happening and they all declared they would come with them to Dumbledore's Office.

So the group headed through the common room out the portrait hole and down the various stairs quick to avoid them changing direction.

It took a lot of walking until they found the entrance that was, that day, located on the Third Floor.

They then hit a bit of a snag as they reached the two stone gargoyles guarding the entrance "I don't know the password" Harry said in frustration.

None of the others did either and so they resolved to just say as many sweet names as they could think of.

Or that's what they would have done at least, had the gargoyles not sprang aside to reveal the staircase behind them.

Hermione's shrewd mind came into play as she said "he knows we're coming".

"How does he manage it?" Neville said in awe.

"Who knows" Draco said "but knowing Dumbledore he has some magical way of telling who's coming to see him".

"Makes sense" Ginny agreed "he's certainly never surprised when anyone turns up in his office".

The group stepped onto the winding staircase and stood still as it wound it's way up to Dumbledore's Office all the way up on the Seventh Floor.

When the staircase stopped they stepped off and walked towards the imposing double doors of Dumbledore's Office.

Unsurprisingly to Harry, the doors opened as they reached them to reveal the Headmasters Office.

As they walked in Professor Dumbledore was sat behind his desk, hands folded in front of him. There was a smile on his lips and a twinkle in his eyes "ah Mr Potter, Miss Granger, Miss Weasley, Mr Black, Mr Weasley and Mr Longbottom, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" he said warmly.

Harry took a deep breath "well Sir it's about tonight and my being chosen as a Champion".

Dumbledore nodded as if he knew what Harry was going to say.

Harry glared at Ron "Ron doesn't believe I didn't put my name in the Goblet".

Dumbledore looked at Ron sternly.

Ron withered before Dumbledore's sharp gaze "is this true Mr Weasley?" he said calmly.

Ron flushed and felt the need to defend himself "well just because he says he didn't is no proof" he insisted.

"It should be" Harry muttered feeling very hurt.

All the other New Marauders were glaring at the redhead and Ginny actually smacked him on the back of the head "shame on you Ron!" she said angrily.

Ron rubbed his cheek looking upset too "I presume you wish to view my pensieve to show Mr Weasley your memories of the past few days" Dumbledore said as he stood up and walked round his desk.

"Yes Sir" Harry replied.

Dumbledore nodded "very well. I think this to be a sensible idea" he used a spell and the pensieve appeared, the light coloured water casting an eerie glow around the office.

"You know what to do Harry" Dumbledore said simply.

Harry who had done this before, nodded, placed his wand to his temple and extracted the relevant section of memory before depositing it into the pensieve.

The water mixed with the memory swirled about as the magic did it's work and in moments there was a perfectly formed up memory.

"I think myself, Mr Potter and Mr Weasley shall enter" Dumbledore said decisively.

It made sense to Harry and so the three leaned over the basin and were pulled in to the memory.

They landed with a thud and found themselves outside with all of the other staff and students.

Harry recognised it as the day before when they had welcomed the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students and staff to Hogwarts.

The memories carried out through that evening and night and through to Halloween.

Nothing had happened overnight on the thirtieth and as they kept watching the memories moved into Halloween day and nothing unusual had happened yet.

The day proceeded as Harry and Ron remembered it up until the Halloween feast when the Champions were decided upon and Harry's name called out.

Ron still said "but how do I know you haven't removed some memories?".

It was Dumbledore that answered "Mr Weasley I have extensive knowledge of this and Harry's memory has not had sections removed and has not been tampered with. I think it's clear that he did not put his name into that Goblet".

The memories ended and the three wizards found themselves being pulled back up and landing on the stone floor of Dumbledore's Office.

After they had got their bearings back Harry looked looked at Ron as did Dumbledore.

Ron's face had turned as red as a tomato and he was mumbling "you idiot. You idiot" over and over.

Then came something totally unexpected given who it came from.

Ron grabbed Harry in such a forceful hug that Harry was alarmed for a moment.

He saw surprised to see and hear his usually composed friend weeping into Harry's robes.

Ron never wept at anything "I'm so so sorry" Ron said emotionally after he stopped hugging Harry.

His eyes were red raw from crying and he looked so regretful that Harry had already decided to forgive him "I made stupid assumptions. After thirteen odd years I should have believed you. I've ruined our friendship" Ron said as he gazed at his shoes.

Harry sighed "Ron I can't deny that the things you said and the way you behaved really hurt me. I thought our friendship was stronger than all that" he sighed again "we can stay as best friends. One incident can't erase everything we've been through but...you're going to have to make amends for it" he told Ron.

"How?" Ron said seemingly lost.

Harry grinned "by helping me prepare for the First Task of course".

Ron smiled and then said something Harry would not have thought he'd hear from him "I love you mate. You're the best friend ever".

Harry smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

Dumbledore beamed at them all happily "well I'm most glad that this has been resolved so quickly. May I suggest heading back to your common room and I bid you all a good night".

As the New Marauders left the Headmasters Office Harry felt happy for the first time in hours.

Ron was back on his side and he would have help to prepare for the dreaded First Task.

* * *

Harry got up early the next morning and woke up Ron, Neville and Draco.

They got dressed and crept silent from the dorm room, down the stairs to the common room.

Today was Molly's eleventh birthday and he'd told his Parents that he would handle preparing for the party given that Molly was at Hogwarts and they were all busy, their Dad with his Auror duties and their Mum with her work at St Mungo's as a Medi Witch.

As they reached the common room Harry heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Hermione, smiling "what's the plan?" she asked brightly.

"Right" Harry said "the party is being held at Hagrids cabin when the school day ends" he told them all "me and Draco will handle the food and drink" Ron cut in "why can't I?".

"Because Ronald you'd probably eat it all" Ginny quipped.

Everyone laughed except Ron "hey!" he said indignantly "I'm not that greedy!".

They all chuckled "you are mate" Draco said.

Ron shrugged "Ron, you and Neville will handle decorations, Hermione and Ginny find Luna and tell her the three of you will need to keep her away from Hagrids cabin before school ends today".

Everyone nodded.

The morning went very quickly and Harry and Draco soon found themselves in front of the painting of a pear that was the secret entrance to the Kitchens.

Harry tickled it as his Father had shown him. The painting swung back and they entered.

The House Elves were all bustling around, washing up, tidying or preparing food and drink. Or rather they were until they saw Harry and Draco.

The two of them soon found themselves being bustled over to a small square table with several chairs "what can we do for Master Harry Potter and Master Draco Black?" one of the Elves Harry knew as Ralkey said in a squeaky voice "well first of all we'd love some lunch please" Draco said politely as he and Harry had been taught.

The House Elves bowed and in moments had brought the pair their favourite foods for lunch.

They ate as much as they could and when they were done Harry said "we also really need your help Ralkey. Could you and the other House Elves please make up enough food for a birthday party. I have a list here of the food we need. Could you do all this by this evening please?" he asked.

Ralkey smiled "it would an honour young Masters" he replied and bowed.

Harry and Draco thanked him and left the Kitchens to head to what was by now their next lesson.

The rest of the school day after that went very fast and Harry soon found himself waiting alongside Draco up in Professor Dumbledore's Office.

The flames flared green and out stepped Sirius Black, his wife Janice and their Son David.

Harry and Draco hugged all three of them and then they waited as more people arrived.

The next to arrive was Peter and Celia with Celia carrying one of their twins and Peter the other.

After greeting them they waited.

Remus stepped out next and hugged both Harry and Draco and asked "how are your defence lessons?".

"Going well" was all Harry said causing Remus to glance at the pair of them a bit worried.

The flames turned green once again and out stepped the two people that Harry most wanted to see in the world. His Mum and Dad.

James and Lucy embraced their Son in a warm hug as soon as they saw him. His Mum kissed him on the forehead and his Dad said "we need to talk later tonight about this Tournament" Harry sighed and said "look Dad I didn't enter my name".

His Dad held up a hand "I know you didn't Harry. All I meant was that since you can't be removed from it I'll teach you some useful spells".

Harry smiled in gratitude "thanks Dad" he said.

His Dad chuckled and ruffled his hair "hey what are Dad's for?".

He looked round "I trust the birthday girl is being kept occupied" he said.

Harry grinned "of course".

His Mum smiled "well done".

Harry took out the Marauders Map and searched for Molly's location.

He saw her, Hermione, Ginny and Luna in the common room. They weren't moving about so they must have been sat down.

He smiled and was about to put the map away when he saw something on the map.

Something that he was sure hadn't been there before.

It was a name. Not the name of anyone who worked at Hogwarts and not of anyone who attended it. It said "Barty Crouch Jr".

Harry frowned "Dad?" he said calling his Dad's attention.

"Yes?" his Dad said coming over from where he'd been talking with Dumbledore.

"Is this map ever wrong?" he asked.

He got a chorus of "never" from the four Marauders.

"Why?" his Dad said suddenly concerned.

"It's just this name here on the map. In Moody's Office".

"Professor Moody Harry" several people corrected him.

"Yes, yes, yes but look" he insisted.

His Dad peered at the map but a second too late as, in front of Harry's eyes, the name changed to show "Alastor Moody".

Harry blinked in confusion.

How could a name change in front of him?.

There was something odd going on at Hogwarts this year.

He only wished he knew what "all I see is Moody's name" his Dad said.

Harry sighed knowing none of the adults would listen without seeing the name "I must have imagined it" Harry said trying to sound apologetic for wasting his Dad's time.

After Dumbledore had given his promise to be at the party at some point that night, the group exited his office and made their way down through the grounds.

As they neared Hagrids cabin Harry fired off a Patronus which he directed to head to the Gryffindor common room and let Hermione, Ginny and Luna know it was time.

They approached the cabin and Harry had to say he was very impressed.

With Hagrids help Ron and Neville had decked out the cabin in banners and balloons and had set up trestle tables inside a marquee.

Harry was pleased to see there was much food and drink waiting for them all and thank the Hogwarts House Elves for being so nice and made a decision to buy them all something as a thank you.

The various presents Molly would be given were waiting, Harry knew, under a tarpaulin safe from any potentially bad weather and inquisitive eyes.

He hoped Molly would like his present as it was something he knew she didn't have.

He heard voices as several people exited the cabin and was amazed to see that Professor McGonagall and his virtual Uncle Professor Snape were already here for the party.

And then he realised that they had most likely helped "Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape" he said with a smile.

They smiled back and Snape said "it's Uncle Sev to you and your siblings Harry. Always".

Harry grinned at that "so glad you two could make it. I know how busy you both are".

"It wasn't a problem Harry" Professor McGonagall assured him.

"Someone needed to show your dunderheaded friends how to put up decorations" his Uncle said.

Harry knew he was only teasing as he was smiling. Harry chuckled at that.

Other guests began to arrive including Angelina, Katie and Alicia and Fred and George Weasley.

He also knew that his Sister had made friends with two girls among the First Years and so wasn't surprised to see them arrive for the party as well.

Harry checked the Marauders Map and it showed that his Sister was halfway to Hagrids cabin alongside Hermione, Ginny and Luna who were probably keeping her talking.

The guests all hid and in a few minutes the birthday girl arrived "I still don't see why you've dragged..." she began.

From his hiding place Harry saw her jaw drop at the sight before her.

Hermione coughed loudly. At that prearranged signal all of the guests jumped out and shouted "surprise!".

"Oh my...wow!" Molly exclaimed, surprised at first and then happy.

She hugged all of her family and thanked all of the other guests for being there "I think I can guess who organised this" she said with a smirk.

Harry grinned "no fooling you is there Sis" he replied.

"Oh on the contrary dear Brother I had no idea a party was planned. You all did brilliant".

The party was a very fun affair with music, much food being eaten and much juice and butter beer consumed.

Professor Dumbledore dropped by briefly to wish Molly a happy birthday and give her his present which was a selection of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

Professor Moody also turned up, his arrival announced by the constant clack clacking sound made by his wooden leg.

He hugged Molly and handed her a Pocket Sneakoscope as well as saying CONSTANT VIGILENCE!".

Harry stared at him when he was sure Moody wasn't looking. He still got the feeling that something was off about the Defence teacher.

He shook it off. It was Molly's birthday and a time for fun not for suspicion.

Molly tore through her presents happily which included a Firebolt for their Parents which she was told she could only use at home unless she was picked for the House team next year, a broom servicing kit from Sirius, Janice and David confirming they'd known about the broom, a set of Quidditch robes and gloves from Remus, some computer games for her computer from Peter and Celia, a pair of jeans she really wanted from Draco and various items of clothing, books and sweets from everyone else and then she got to Harry's present.

The present was small and securely wrapped.

She looked at the card on top first which said: To the best Sister in the world. Enjoy. Harry.

Molly tore open the wrapping paper, discarded it and gazed at what she held in her hand.

It was a wand holster made from dragon hide. It had been crafted skilfully and lovingly.

She tried it on, slipped her wand in it and tried it out.

Her wand was in her hand in less then a second.

Harry, standing nervously, was very happy and relieved when his Sister hugged him and thanked him profusely for the gift as she had done with everyone else.

The party went on until eleven pm when Molly herself called a halt to the proceedings announcing she was tired.

She thanked everyone for coming, hugged her Parents, Aunts, Uncles and younger Brother who then left and headed back up to the castle escorted by the Professors and chatting happily with her First Year friends.

Harry felt quite pleased that night as he finished off his homework for DADA. The party had been a huge success.

His Sister had liked her gift from him and for just one night nothing had gone wrong.

So why did he have a feeling in his gut that something was about to?.

* * *

Authors Note: Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.

The next chapter will see Harry prepare for the First Task and include the Weighing of the Wands, Moody offering some hints and the First Task itself.


	32. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Potter Universe & Characters except for my original characters such as Molly Potter.

* * *

Authors Note: The prank you read about in this chapter was not devised by me but by another author. I'm afraid I can't call to mind the exact author or story but if the author is reading this I hope they don't mind me borrowing the prank as I think it is such a fun one to play.

Chapter Thirty Two: Preparations, The First Task & School Wide Prank

The first week of November had passed by quickly in a rush of classes and research and practise of spells as Harry prepared for the First Task on the 24th of November.

It was the first Friday of November and Harry was eating breakfast in the Great Hall with the rest of the New Marauders when Hagrid approached him in the Great Hall.

Oddly enough he didn't say anything he simply slipped a piece of parchment to Harry, patted him on the shoulder and walked past out of the Great Hall.

Harry frowned after him in confusion. It wasn't like Hagrid to not say good morning.

"What was that about?" Ron asked him looking as confused as Harry felt.

"Don't know" Harry said.

"It's not like Hagrid to be silent that" Molly commented "must be a note or something".

Harry thought about this. It made sense though he couldn't understand what Hagrid would need to send him a note about since he could just have invited him and the others to tea by asking them.

He unfolded the parchment and read the words on it growing more bemused by the second.

"Why would he want you to meet him at midnight?" Draco asked over their mental link.

"No idea" Harry answered "but it must be important".

"What does he want Harry?" Ginny asked her boyfriend.

Harry, still frowning, said "he wants me to meet him at his cabin at midnight tonight, told me to come alone".

"But Hagrid knows it's against the rules to be out and about after from midnight!" Hermione exclaimed, scandalised.

"It is odd" Luna said in her soft voice.

"You can't be thinking of going!" Neville said incredulously.

"Of course he isn't" Hermione said sensibly. She then caught the expression on Harry's face "you aren't...are you?" she asked sharply.

Harry looked at the parchment again and said "it must be important. I should at least go down to see what he wants".

"But Harry you could get a detention and lose points!" Hermione shouted.

Oh come on Hermione, you know Harry wouldn't ask unless he felt Harry needed to know something".

Harry made his mind up "I'm going down to see him and that's that" he said decisively.

Hermione looked upset "fine!" she snapped angrily "but don't come to me to bail you out!" she stormed out of the Great Hall for the first lesson of the day.

"Don't worry about her mate. You know what she's like" Ron said "I love her but she's far too much a stickler for the rules".

That day Harry had another Defence Against The Dark Arts lesson and as much as Harry enjoyed learning about trolls he couldn't shake the idea that Moody was watching him especially with the way his magical eye swivelled around madly.

The rest of the day seemed to go well as Harry managed to brew a bone repairing potion and he got a nice sleep in History of Magic. Or rather he had a good sleep until Hermione slapped him on the back of the head waking him up and forcing him to focus on Binns who was droning as usual about Goblin rebellions.

That night Harry had dinner with the other New Marauders as usual and then returned to the common room with them to work on homework and relax.

Harry was forced to wait patiently until late that night.

Other than the New Marauders, the Weasley Twins Fred and George were sat in the common room until late that night talking nearby in hushed voices.

Harry was not sure what they were discussing but it seemed to be pretty urgent and he recalled being told they had had a bet on with Ludo Bagman.

In any case it was none of his concern.

At eleven thirty Fred and George headed upstairs to their common room leaving only the New Marauders sat around near the fireplace.

Harry had already retrieved the invisibility cloak earlier on after returning to Gryffindor Tower and so was ready.

Once Fred and George were gone Harry stood up and headed to the portrait hole "good luck Harry" Ginny said squeezing his hand. Ron and Draco also wished him good luck though Draco would be able to keep up through his mental link.

Even Neville wished him good luck despite his earlier reservations.

Only Hermione refused to wish him luck, still stubbornly insisting that he shouldn't do it and it would be bad for Gryffindor if he was caught.

As he exited the portrait hole the Fat Lady who was clearly drunk again murmured "who...what are you doing?".

Harry ignored her, slipped his invisibility cloak on, unfolded the Marauders Map and headed down the staircase.

As taking many twists and turns he finally reached the Entrance Hall.

He had a momentary fright as he saw Argus Filch the grouchy caretaker. He thought about what he could do.

He slipped into the nearby trophy room and spotted Peeves the Poltergeist.

Peeves had been a massive friend to his Father and Uncles in their Marauding days at Hogwarts and had sworn to help Harry, Draco and the others now they were here "Peeves" Harry called out as quietly as he could.

He took off the cloak for a moment.

Peeves heard him first time and flew on over "Harry!" he said in his shrill voice.

"Peeves I need your help" he told the poltergeist who threw up a hand in salute "Peeves is always on hand to help a Marauder" he said.

Harry grinned "thanks Peeves. Filch and Mrs Norris are in the Entrance Hall and I need to get out of the castle. Can you create a distraction?".

The poltergeist grinned evilly "it would be a pleasure it would!" he responded before zooming off.

Harry waited for a while until he heard a loud roar of anger and a heavy crash from Filches Office.

Harry grinned, guessing that Filch would be kept busy for a while as he heard more crashes and cackling laughter from the poltergeist.

He slipped the cloak on and headed over to the large front doors which swung open for him.

He sighed in relief and headed out into the dark grounds.

As he walked he called out "Lumos" and a bright light appeared on the tip of his wand that illuminated the path ahead "this had better be important Hagrid" he said aloud.

He looked at his watch. The time said: 23:50 'thank god I'm on time' he thought.

Another voice popped into his head "clever idea to use Peeves" his Brother said.

Harry grinned and replied back over the link "I figured Peeves would enjoy doing it".

He heard laughter over the link.

After walking for a few more minutes he reached Hagrids cabin, knocked on the door and waited for a response.

Hagrid answered and Harry gaped in astonishment.

His large friend was once again wearing his old brown suit. His hair had been combed back smartly and he was wearing a large daffodil in the top pocket of his suit jacket "Hagrid why are you dressed like that?" Harry asked the half-giant.

Hagrid grinned "got me a date haven' I" he said.

Harry was stunned. In all the years he'd known Hagrid he'd never known the large man to date anyone not because he didn't want to Harry knew. It was more that Hagrid was worried they would know he was a half-giant and not want anything to do with him.

"If you have a date why am I here!" Harry demanded irritably.

He couldn't believe he'd been summoned from the nice warm common room down into the dark grounds merely to be told that Hagrids having a date "I figured that you'll be able to see what I want to show you if you follow and keep hidden" the large man told him.

Harry sighed "why do you need be with someone else to show me?" he asked.

"Simple" said Hagrid "if anyone saw yeh we'd get in trouble but no one will mind me showin' me date".

Harry couldn't argue with that logic "throw yer cloak back on" Hagrid told him.

Harry did as bid, extinguished his wand and waited next to Hagrid whom he noted seemed very nervous.

After a short while Harry could see a figure approaching, a lit wand in their hands.

For the second time that night he stared in amazement as he saw Madame Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons striding up to Hagrids cabin.

"That's who you're going on a date with?" Harry whispered to him.

"Well..why not?" Hagrid answered.

The Headmistress reached the steps in front of the cabin and said "ah Monsier Agrid what was it you wanted to show me?".

"I've got something amazing for ya ta see" he told her "will you please follow me Madame".

He and Madame Maxime linked arms and began to walk towards the trees leaving Harry, hidden under his cloak, to follow on behind struggling to keep up with the long strides of the taller witch and wizard.

After they had been walking a short time they entered the Forbidden Forest and walked for quite a way. The only sound as they walked was crunch of twigs or the sound of their feet.

Eventually they reached a large clearing in the Forest that had less trees clustered there.

"Here we are" Hagrid said.

Harry, still hidden by the cloak stepped up beside him and looked ahead.

He could see several large enclosures and wondered what on earth could be kept in the Forest and just why he needed to see it.

There was a sound of footsteps and a figure emerged from one of the enclosures.

He had short red hair and many burn marks on his face. It was someone Harry had met many times before when visiting The Burrow. Charlie Weasley, the second oldest Weasley sibling who worked with Dragons in Romania.

'Oh no!' his head screamed.

Harry suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.

Charlie approached Hagrid and Madame Maxime "Hagrid!" he said cheerfully and shook the half-giants hand "I don't think I've met you've before Madame" Charlie said to the tall woman as he bowed.

"A pleasure I'm sure" Madame Maxime replied with a small smile "I presume you've brought her here to see the Dragons for the First Task" Charlie said.

Hagrid nodded "this way then" Charlie said brightly before looking to Hagrids right where Harry was standing. He saw Charlie's face break into a grin and thought 'please don't say anything Charlie' but Charlie didn't.

He merely waved Hagrid and Madame Maxime over nearer to the Dragon enclosures, to a distance where they could get a good look at them but would not get hurt if anything should happen.

"On the very left we've got the Welsh Green" Charlie informed them "they're usually 18 feet long and are green all over. They're are a bit more placid than some Dragons. Next we have the Swedish Shortsnout which is silvery blue and can be anything up t 22 feet long, they're very fiery creatures. Have quite a temper on them if roused".

Charlie moved on "next up is the Chinese Fireball, scarlet coloured, 25 feet long with spikes around it's face. Has quite the fireball".

Harry noted that as they moved along the first three Dragons had seemed to be handled relatively easily. Hence his trepidation when they reached an enclosure where a large number of handlers seemed to be busy trying to keep the Dragon at bay "and lastly" Charlie began "is the Hungarian Horntail" he actually grimaced as he said it and considering how much he liked Dragons it was surprising "very vicious creatures. Even when they're not riled up they lash out at anyone nearby" he told them "they have all black skin colour and large sharp spikes protruding from their tail".

Harry gazed in horror at the large beast that seemed to throwing handlers about and forcing them to back away "they grow to 50 feet long..." Charlie was about to continue when a man in soot blackened clothes with burn marks on his face and arms, appeared outside the enclosure and said "Charlie we need your help to sedate him!".

"Uh oh!" Charlie ran towards the enclosure calling out "great to see you!".

Harry stood for a moment gazing in horror at the large beast in the enclosure. That thing was part of the First Task?.

He turned and ran. Ran as fast as his legs would carry him. Ran until his lungs were screaming for oxygen.

As he reached the bench halfway up the sloping lawns a familiar voice shouted in his head "Dragons?!" rather hysterically.

"Calm down" Harry said firmly but kindly to Draco "we'll talk about with the others when I get back".

He reached Gryffindor Tower and muttered the new password for the term "Flamel's Stone".

The portrait swung open and he stumbled in through the portrait hole, his heart hammering in his chest.

He felt exhausted and terrified.

"What did he show you?" Ron asked.

"Why are you so out of breath?" Neville cut in.

"It can't have been that bad can it?" Hermione said.

Ginny said nothing, just sat down next to him and squeezed his arm.

Draco sat on his other side as Ron, Neville and Hermione sat in front of them "it's **worse **than I thought" Harry declared trying to get his breath back "can I have some water?".

In a second a glass of cool water was in his hand. He downed the contents, wiped his lips and set it aside on a table "Dragons".

"WHAT!" Ron shouted.

"Dragons?" Hermione said in confusion.

Draco nodded.

Ginny's eyes widened.

"Why would Hagrid be showing you Dragons Harry?" Neville asked "I mean...I know you like them but still...".

Harry sighed "the First Task is Dragons".

"That's insane!" Ron jumped up shouting.

"They can't make you fight Dragons!" Neville said just as loudly.

"Well we have to do something against them and I doubt it's tickling them" Harry said miserably.

"They can't have you fighting Dragons Harry" Hermione said reasonably "it would put students in far too much danger".

"You might be right Hermione" Harry said biting his lip "but I'm going to research spells to take one down just in case. I'm going to stay down here a bit. You all go off to bed" he said.

Ron and Neville said goodnight and left and asking if he was ok as did Hermione.

This left only Draco and Ginny "you aren't going to head up to bed are you?" Draco said.

Harry glanced at his Brother "how did you know?" he said trying and failing to keep his tone light.

"A Brother knows these things, especially with our connection" Draco replied.

"Don't worry about Harry Draco, get some sleep. I'll stay up with him" Ginny assured the blonde haired boy.

Draco flashed her a grateful smile and said "alright I will". Turning to Harry he said "if you need anything though, anything at all, let me know".

Harry grinned "thanks Bro" he said.

They hugged "any time" Draco said as he headed upstairs.

Harry didn't go to bed that night. Instead he spent the entire night on the same sofa in the common room.

He wasn't alone however as Ginny stayed up with him.

The two of them talked long into the night on the Tournament and at one point Ginny teared up "what's the matter love?" Harry asked wiping away her tears.

Ginny sniffled "I'm just scared for you is all love" she told him.

Harry smiled "you don't need to be love. This Tournament is no more dangerous than facing Quirrel/Voldemort in my First Year or going into the Chamber in my second and it's nowhere near as dangerous as defending myself against Dementors" he shuddered at the mention of the dark creatures "I'll be fine" he kissed her hand "I promise".

"You'd better be. I love you you great prat" she said as she kissed him on the lips.

"I love you too" he replied reciprocating the kiss.

The curled up together on the sofa, Harry transfigured a blanket and some pillows and they lay there for the rest of the night, lost in each others arms.

Harry was amazed to find that, that night he didn't have one single nightmare and he had a feeling it was all down to the girl in his arms.

* * *

Despite the extensive training he'd been doing for the First Task and being consumed with classes and homework Harry and the rest of the New Marauders still had time to plan a school wide prank.

By the second week of November they'd already completed the plans themselves and were in the process of preparing the prank items.

The plan was simple yet effective. The first food item consumed at dinner that evening would transform a student depending on their House.

Gryffindor's would grow lion heads and tails and instead of speaking would roar loudly.

Slytherins would grow snake tongues, hiss and have scaly skin for a short while.

Hufflepuff's would grow black and white fur all over their bodies and their noses would change into the short nose of a badger.

And Ravenclaw's would grow eagle heads and their speech would be replaced with the sound of an eagle calling out.

"It's brilliant!" Harry exclaimed happily "this is the sort of big thing we needed!".

"Well Hermione came up with the spells" Draco said grinning.

"Oh come now Draco you and Ginny solved the problem of when to cast it and on who" Hermione said magnanimously.

Harry laughed "well I'm just glad me, Ron, Neville and Luna have the easy part. Right guys" he said.

Ron, Neville and Luna all chuckled and agreed.

It had been decided that Luna would cast the spell for her own table and the Slytherins who were nearest them while Harry, Ron and Neville would take care of the Gryffindor table and the Hufflepuff table.

"This is going to be our best prank yet!" Harry said.

"And because it will affect us too no one will know who did it" Ginny said smiling.

That dinner found the seven New Marauders in the Great Hall waiting for the opportune moment to carry out their prank.

Their wands twitched as they waited for the last stragglers to reach the hall and take their seats.

When Harry was sure enough of the students were in the Hall he nodded to Luna who nodded back and whispered to Ron and Neville "now guys" his friends nodded and with a deft wave of their wands and Luna's the whole thing was done in mere moments.

They now waited with baited breath to see if the spell would have the desired effect.

They did not have to wait long as people began to tuck in at the four House tables and began to instantly change as soon as they swallowed their first morsel of food.

They watched all round the hall as students began to change into Lions and Eagles and Badgers and Snakes.

Some seemed overjoyed at being transfigured while others looked and sounded either angry or alarmed.

Harry and the others laughed for a short while before tucking into their food and also finding themselves changing.

Harry looked at Ron and the others and all he could see was people with Lion heads.

He laughed long and loud as did the others but thankfully their laughter as with Luna's was disguised by their animal forms.

After ten or so minutes of absolute pandemonium in the Great Hall the spell wore off and all of the students began returning to normal.

Some students clapped or cheered the prank while others laughed heartily about it.

Some such as the perennial misery Theodore Nott merely looked askance at having been transfigured.

The Professors looked amazed. McGonagall looked torn between being stern and impressed by the magic while Professors Flitwick, Sprout and Snape were all howling with laughter as was Hagrid.

Professor Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling brightly and the corners of his mouth twitched up as he stared over at Luna first and then the other New Marauders on the Gryffindor table.

Harry was sure the old wizard knew who had done it and yet he also felt certain Dumbledore would say nothing as he knew the old wizard liked a good prank as well, provided it hurt no one.

* * *

The thirteenth of November being a Sunday was very fortuitous for Harry as it gave the opportunity for he and the rest of the New Marauders to spend the morning in the Library using their free time as they had been for more than a week researching spells and other ways of getting through the First Task.

Now that Harry knew he would be going up against Dragons they were all checking for spells that could help take down or get round a Dragon.

"The problem is we don't know whether you have to fight one or just get past it" Hermione said in frustration as she set a book down.

"You could go for a tickling charm Harry" Ron suggested.

"That's a terrible idea Ron!" Draco burst out.

"Oh and why's that?" Ron asked irritably.

Draco laughed "because Ron, the Dragon could sneeze and roast Harry alive!".

Ron turned beet red and looked very sheepish "oh...right. Yeah. Sorry Harry" he mumbled in embarrassment.

Harry chuckled "don't worry about it mate. I appreciate the suggestion".

"Hey this could work!" Neville exclaimed.

Everyone turned to him "a Conjunctivitis Jinx. You could temporarily blind the Dragon!".

"Could work Nev, set it aside with the others. I was thinking actually that it would be a good idea to learn the summoning charm, see...I'm not allowed my broom to start with but they didn't say I can't summon it to me".

"Perfect idea Harry!" Draco said grinning "I think our main priority should be to help Harry learn it before the First Task".

There was a murmur of assent from everyone else.

Just then, the doors to the Library banged open and the waspish voice of the Librarian Madam Pince called out "be quiet this is a Library!" as if no one already knew.

Harry and his friends turned back to their spell books only to hear an awkward cough nearby.

After some time of the coughing Harry looked up and sighed. It was Colin Creevey an overly enthusiastic Muggleborn Third Year that hero worshipped Harry "hey Colin good to see you but we're a bit busy" Harry said flicking through a spell book.

"Sorry to disturb you all but you're needed for the wand weighing ceremony" Colin said nervously.

Harry sighed "alright" he said feeling that it was a much better use of his time to be looking up spells that having his wand weighed.

He picked up his school bag, slung it over his shoulder and said "see you guys later then" and stepped up beside Colin as they exited the Library.

If Harry had hoped to have a peaceful walk he'd been sadly mistaken as Colin talked and talked "I was so surprised to see you be selected Harry. I was thrilled of course!. I bet you'll beat them all, you'll ace it!. Do you think it'll be very dangerous?".

Harry rolled his eyes "yes I'm sure it will be quite dangerous" he replied wearily.

He generally liked Colin it was just that the younger boys exuberance could wear pretty thin after a while.

"Here we are Harry!" Colin said "see you!" the excitable boy went off down the corridor whistling happily.

Harry pushed open the door to the room and found it was a disused classroom.

As he closed the door behind him he saw Cedric Diggory the other Hogwarts Champion and in the eyes of all Hufflepuff's, quite a few Ravenclaws and many Slytherins, the true Champion.

He recalled that a few days after his name was plucked from the hat previously friendly Hufflepuff's had taken to blanking him, given him glares or calling him names.

Rude badges had also appeared that declared "Potter stinks" and then flashed to reveal "support Cedric Diggory the real Hogwarts Champion".

Harry might have grown used to them had it not been for the Slytherins buying them all from the Hufflepuff's and few Ravenclaws that had worn them and charming them to be permanently stuck on "Potter stinks".

A few days days ago Luna, Neville and Ron had grabbed one of these badges and attempted to get it to say "support Potter" but now all it said was "Potter really stinks".

As he caught Cedric's eye the older boy nodded in a measure of respect as he talked to Professor Dumbledore.

Harry then saw Fleur Delacour looking immaculately dressed as always, her long blonde hair tied back today, she eyed him disdainfully and returned to hearing whatever Madame Maxime was telling her.

He knew that she thought him too young.

He also saw Victor Krum standing in a corner brooding alongside his Headmaster Professor Asimov.

The Bulgarian wizard did not see him.

There was a photographer, probably from the Daily Prophet on standby and in front of him was a man Harry had not seen since before his First Year, Mr Ollivander the wand maker and seller.

Harry presumed he was here to weigh the wands.

"Would all Champions please come over to me" Mr Ollivander said in a loud voice.

Harry and the others walked over to the old wizard, took out their wands and waited to be called up.

The ceremony progressed on with Mr Ollivander checking each of the Champions wands to make sure they were in good condition and would work properly during each of the tasks.

He commended everyone but suggested to Harry to polish it a bit more.

Harry, knowing that the wand maker knew more about wands than he could ever hope to learn, promised to do just that.

Photos were taken of each of the Champions with their wands out and then a wholly unpleasant voice spoke in his ear "Harry Potter I presume" said the voice.

Harry guessed the woman speaking had meant it to sound friendly but it just sounded like she was up to something "that's me" he replied cautiously.

"Rita Skeeter" she said extending a hand.

Harry gaped at her "you! you're the one who wrote an article on my Uncle Remus! and you called Dumbledore an old fool!".

The reporter smiled "yes I did, shall we go for our interview now?".

"Yes off you go Harry" Ludo Bagman said brightly.

Rita Skeeter began dragging Harry towards a cupboard over his objections.

They were halfway there when Harry managed to step on her foot and yank her arm free "you are a liar and a fraud!" he said loudly "I don't want to do an interview with you!".

Skeeter looked furious and seemed about to try dragging him to the cupboard again until a calm voice chimed in "ah Harry, now that the ceremony is over I assume you will be returning to the Library. I believe your friends are down there waiting for you".

Harry smiled at the Professor and said "thanks Professor" which he was sure Dumbledore knew was both for telling him where to find his friends and saving him from that awful Skeeter woman.

The thing he hated most was that he knew she would write an article anyway making it seem liked she's interviewed him and all the gullible idiots would believe what she said.

As Harry left he heard footsteps behind him and saw Cedric Diggory walking along the same corridor.

He decided to do something that he knew would probably make the other student suspicious but Harry knew was the right thing to do.

"Cedric" he called out as he stopped.

Cedric walked over to him "yeah?" he said.

Harry took a deep breath "don't ask how I know but the First Task is Dragons".

Cedric gaped at him "Dragons?".

Harry nodded and the older boys eyes narrowed "why are you telling me this?" he asked suspiciously.

Harry rolled his eyes "I'm not trying to trick you Cedric. I just want Hogwarts to bring to the trophy home no matter which of us ends up winning and in any case I happen to know Madame Maxime saw the Dragons too and would have told Fleur by now".

Cedric's suspicious gaze still lingered but he said "thanks" before walking off.

Harry was proven right in his assumption about Rita Skeeter when he opened the Daily Prophet newspaper the next morning and read in mounting fury the story which she had written.

"Eyes sparkling with the ghost of my dead Mum!" he shouted.

It had taken half an hour for Harry's Brother and friends to get him to calm down after the incident and that was only after he'd torn the newspaper into tiny little pieces and spat on them.

* * *

It was now the 24th of November and the talk with Cedric seemed to be a lifetime ago.

The eleven days had passed by in a rush of classes, homework, Hogsmeade visits and vigorous preparations for the First Task.

True to their word his Uncles and Dad had come to Hogwarts and secretly helped Harry learn a number of new spells and brush up on other spells that could really help him him when it came to facing a Dragon.

When Harry had voiced his concerns about facing the Dragon his Dad had looked as worried as he had but had told him "I imagine you'll just need to get past it. I highly doubt they'd endanger students by having them fight one".

That still had not quietened the doubts spinning about in Harry's mind and as he stood in the Champions pavilion all he could think was 'what the bloody hell am I doing here? I'm not ready for this!'.

He was vaguely aware of his hands shaking with nerves as Mr Fudge opened the drawstring bag containing the Dragon models 'please anything but the Horntail' Harry thought.

He felt sick.

Fleur was the first one to choose. She reached into the bag and plucked out the common Welsh Green which was one of the more placid of the four Dragons, it also contained the number one meaning she'd be up first.

Victor went next plucking out the Chinese Fireball and the number three.

Then it was Cedric's turn with him plucking out the Swedish Shortsnout and the number two.

Harry's legs felt like jelly as he reached down into the bag and plucked out the only remaining Dragon model.

'Give me a break!' he thought miserably as he plucked out the Hungarian Horntail the most vicious of the four Dragons and with it the number four which meant he'd have to wait until last.

With the Dragons having been selected Bagman and Fudge explained that the Champions each needed to recover an egg from the Dragons who would try their best to protect it.

Harry felt a little better at knowing that he wouldn't have to try killing a full grown Dragon but he still knew it was going to be incredibly difficult.

Then the families came in to wish the Champions good luck.

Harry saw what appeared to be a middle aged woman with blonde hair and also a little girl with the same blonde hair. Both looked a lot like Fleur and he surmised it was her Mother and Sister.

Victor was greeted by a middle aged couple both with greying hair and reserved expressions and he thought they were probably the Champions Parents.

Cedric's Parents meanwhile couldn't be missed especially his boisterous Father Amos who talked as loud as he could and seemed to make Cedric more nervous with his words.

Harry was amazed by the amount of people that came to see him. First came Mr and Mrs Weasley, then came Peter and Celia, then came Sirius and Janice with David, then Remus and finally his Parents along with Molly and Draco.

They all gave him big hugs and words of encouragement. His Sister said "you be careful you prat. I don't care how much honour it is winning it you stay safe" he smiled and promised he would.

"Good luck Harry" his younger Brother David said as he hugged him tightly "you'll do great".

Harry laughed "thanks kiddo" he replied.

Draco was one of the last to hug him and said in an emotional voice "you kick arse out there and get back to safety soon. Don't forget about what we were practising".

"I won't Bro I promise" he assured his Brother.

His Mum then hugged him tearfully and said "oh my sweet boy" she couldn't say any more as she was overcome with emotion and she left the tent alongside the others leaving Harry alone with his Dad.

James looked at his Son and realised with a shock that Harry was almost as tall as he was already.

"Well Son this is it" he said feeling worried "I know you didn't want to be in this Tournament and I don't blame you so just be careful alright?".

Harry felt choked up and could only nod and whisper "I'll try".

His Dad gathered him into a tight hug which he held Harry in for a long time until he was ushered out of the tent as the task was about to begin.

Harry's nerves were heightened when he heard the loud voice of Ludo Bagman, the commentator booming out "Ladies and Gentlemen! welcome to the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament!" the crowd roared out it's approval and the noise became thunderous.

Harry recalled that Bagman had took him aside earlier that day and offered assistance to Harry to help him in the Tournament.

Given that Bagman was supposed to be one of the judges and therefore totally impartial Harry had refused stating that he had friends helping him research spells and that he could handle the rest on his own.

Bagman had slunk away looking very upset and also very worried making Harry certain in his guess that Bagman had taken a massive money bet on him winning the Tournament, whether it was so he could pay the irate Goblins though or pay Fred and George Harry didn't know.

"First up to test her skill is Miss Fleur Delacour!" Fleur strode somewhat nervously through the tent flap and out into the arena.

Harry's nerves were made worse by Bagman's commentary as he commented on every step good or bad "ooh that was a nasty hit!" and "what flying!".

After half an hour the crowd roared and Bagman declared "she has the egg!".

After a short time to most like switch Dragons a voice boomed out "the next Champion Mr Cedric Diggory!".

The older boy strode confidently out of the tent but not before turning to Harry and saying "thanks".

It took less time and judging by the commentary less pitfalls before Cedric grabbed the egg as less than twelve minutes later Bagman shouted "Mr Diggory has done it!".

Again another pause and then "Up next Mr Victor Krum!". Victor slouched out the tent looking his usual grim self.

After thirteen minutes Bagman yelled out "Mr Krum has the egg!".

Harry waited nervously. The tension in his body mounted as the time went by. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to be here but he had no choice.

He was thrown from his thoughts by the booming voice of Ludo Bagman "and now the final Champion Mr Harry Potter!".

Harry swallowed nervously and walked through the tent flap into the sunlight.

A wave of noise assaulted to his ears.

He looked up into the stands where his friends and family were sat all giving him reassuring looks and thumbs up.

He grinned when he saw a large banner being held up by Luna, Ginny and Hermione that read "Harry, Harry, he's our man!".

Harry stared ahead resolutely as he saw not far away, the massive Horntail guarding the precious egg that he needed "I'm sorry" he said quietly and steeled himself to do what he must.

* * *

Authors Note: I had intended to show Harry's part of the task in this chapter but as it's already at 6,279 words it's long enough so I shall show Harry's part of the task at the start of chapter thirty three.

Thanks for all the views, reviews and favourites.


	33. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: The Potterverse belongs to JK Rowling

* * *

Chapter Thirty Three: The Horntail, Investigating Moody, Learning to Dance & Yule Ball

Harry was feeling very nervous as he stood there facing the colossal Dragon perched on the rock ahead of him.

Despite this he was resolute in doing what he needed to to finish the task and leave the arena in one piece.

He turned his back to the Dragon and called out "Accio Broom!". He had had a words with Ron and Neville before the game and had got their assurance that one of them would make sure the window was open for him and the other make sure that his broom was ready on his bed to be summoned to him.

For the longest time he heard no noise after the incantation and began to wonder if he had done it right. Or if he had done it right but that perhaps the spell had a certain range and the broom was beyond it.

After what seemed an age, he heard a loud whistling of air as if something was hurtling towards him at very high speed.

Instinct told him to extend his right arm which he so did while transferring his wand to his left hand.

His instinct paid off as a few seconds later his Firebolt flew into his outstretched hand and Harry gazed at in exaltation.

Not only had he said the incantation properly, he had also got the one item he needed to complete the task.

He wasted no time in turning round, holstering his wand securely, mounting up on the broom and kicking off from the ground.

He soared through the air glorying in the feel of the wind in his face and his messy hair.

God how he had missed this!.

Not for the first time that year he lamented the fact that Quidditch had been cancelled.

How he **longed** to be pursuing the elusive snitch and helping his team to victory.

He zoomed towards the rock on which the large angry Dragon perched. Ignoring the crowd, shutting them out completely he entered his element.

Harry had decided shortly before the task that he would treat it as if he were chasing a snitch.

He reached the rock and made for the egg only to be forced to back off by a tail whip from the Mother Dragon who bellowed protectively.

For a minute he circled the beast trying to think how he could possibly grab the egg and keep it intact.

An idea came to him. Using his wand he transfigured a rock into a wolf that snapped aggressively at the Dragon.

It was a spell he'd been working on with his friends in the Room of Requirement. He'd not been sure it would work but much to his gratification it did. The Dragon was completely thrown off as it attempted to attack the wolf and thus gave Harry his opening to grab the egg.

As the Dragon moved further down the rock exposing the egg Harry took his chance, swooped down and snatched it up.

Unfortunately, just as he had taken the egg and was about to fly off over to the judges, the Dragon disposed of the wolf with a very powerful tail flick that caught the wolf in the side and sent it flying across the arena.

The Dragon then bellowed in rage as fire flew from its nostrils and it began to fly towards Harry.

The great chain that kept the Dragon back should have kept Harry safe but to his horror and no doubt the horror of most people in the arena, the chain snapped and the Dragon zoomed off after Harry as he flew as fast as he could to escape the enraged animal "damn this stupid tournament!" he said aloud.

He flew under the wooden bridge of one of the Hogwarts exits hoping the Dragon would not pursue.

It did and caused great damage in the process as it brought part of the structure down.

Harry flew on and on, zooming over the castles turrets, through archways and under the ancient stone bridge that led to another exit.

The Dragon got momentarily stuck under the bridge but soon broke free and Harry found himself hurtling back towards the arena attempting to avoid the snap of the Dragons very powerful jaws and the swish of its vicious spiked tail.

He zoomed back down into the arena and hovered in front of the judges holding up the egg as the Dragon arrived behind him.

Handlers sprang from their positions and moved to subdue the creature which they managed to do after much time and effort and many burns to their skin.

Harry stumbled on over to the medical tent where Madam pomfrey was checking over the other three Champions.

She beckoned him in and began to check him over for any signs of injury both external and internal "I'm fine Madam Pomfrey just a bit tired is all" he assured her but the dominating school medi witch was not having any of it "I'll be the judge of that Mr Potter" she said sternly.

Harry saw that the other Champions had not got off as lightly as him.

Fleur had a nasty gash on the top of her head, Cedric had a face blackened by soot and rather burnt arms and Victor seemed to have hurt his leg.

"You're fine thank goodness" the medi witch announced.

As Harry exited the tent he found himself being hugged and clapped on the back as his friends and family joined him "that was incredible Harry!" Ron exclaimed in awe.

"Best flying of the lot" his Brother declared.

"Amazing!" Molly and David both said together.

He received claps on the back from Neville and Luna. His Aunts and Uncles and Parents all hugged him.

Ginny pulled him into a near bone crushing hug and murmured "I was so worried for you!" she kissed every inch of his face "I love you so much!".

Harry kissed her and assured her he loved her just as much.

Sirius said "with flying like that you could be a Pro Quidditch player!".

Peter and Remus both nodded and voiced their agreement to this while Harry's Dad said "well done Son. You did very well. I'm proud of you".

"I'm just glad he got back in one piece!" his Mother exclaimed as she wrapped up in a firm hug "I was so worried for you sweetie" she said tearfully.

"Harry they're about to announced the scores!" Hermione cut in.

The Champions and their families stood in the arena and watched as the judges held up their scoreboards.

Fleur received a seven from everyone for her effort as she had accidentally caused the Dragon to set her skirt alight after causing it fall asleep.

Harry could see she was more annoyed with herself than anyone else for losing points.

The next score was for Cedric who was waiting in anticipation. He was awarded a nine by everyone with a point being dropped for getting the egg but getting his face burned.

Victor was award a six from everyone except Asimov who gave him a ten as despite retrieving the egg successfully he used the Conjunctivitis Jinx causing the Dragon to stumble around blindly smashing many of the real eggs.

He did not look happy at losing points for this and glared at the judges.

Harry's own score came up last and he waited. To his astonishment he received full marks from everyone except Asimov who only gave him a six, much to the fury of the Gryffindor's who shouted that Asimov was showing favouritism.

"That means you've got thirty six points Harry!" Hermione said in excitement.

"You're in the lead mate!" Ron shouted.

Harry couldn't believe that he was in the lead right from the First Task.

Before he left the arena Ludo Bagman stood up and informed the Champions and everyone else that the Second Task of the Tournament would take place on the 24th of February and that the egg was a clue as to what the Champions would have to do.

Harry stroked the egg in reverence and wondered what he'd have to do to open it.

He didn't give it too much thought as he strode out of the arena and back up to the castle carried on the shoulders of the proud Gryffindor's who chanted his name.

He didn't see the scowl forming on Cedric's face at the glory Harry was receiving.

* * *

When the Gryffindor's returned to their common room a loud and very raucous party began.

Not long after he arrived in the common room with his friends and family Harry asked the assembled, cheering students whether he should open the egg to check the clue.

The answer was a loud and resounding yes from everyone.

Harry grinned widely "here goes nothing". He twisted the egg and opened it and then promptly grimaced in pain as the egg emitted the most horrible sound he had ever heard.

It was like nails being dragged along sandpaper stuck to a chalkboard.

Everyone else in the common room had covered their ears in horror at the noise and Harry's Brother Draco shouted "close the egg!".

Harry couldn't hear him though.

In the end Harry's Dad stepped forward and he closed the egg with a snap.

The scraping, wailing sound ceased and everyone present looked around them in stark relief at the fact.

"As the party resumed Harry stared at the egg and in confusion muttered "I just don't understand it. It shouldn't make that noise should it?".

He was thoroughly nonplussed about the whole situation as he was sure the egg should have contained a clue.

"Maybe there's a special way of doing it" Draco posited as he checked the egg carefully.

"Well no need to worry about it today!" Ron said cheerfully "time to celebrate".

And celebrate they duly did with all of the Gryffindor's and some of the Ravenclaws including their friend Luna stopping by to celebrate as well.

Ginny kissed him on the lips "I'm really proud of you love" she said.

"What for?" Harry asked in bemusement.

"Because you were afraid but you still completed the task" she replied as she hugged him.

The party lasted well into the early hours of the morning.

Harry's Mum and Aunts left around ten to put David to bed and kissed him goodbye while Harry's Uncles and Dad stayed in the common room to party until twelve am with the Marauders showing off various tricks, their dancing skills and cheering for Harry.

Despite the fun party atmosphere though Harry was kept awake after he went to bed that night by two issues.

The first being the egg and how to get the clue that resided within and the second more pressing matter was what to do about Professor Moody.

Harry made a decision that night as he lay in his bed. He would investigate Moody. Judging by the absence of his Brothers snore and a voice that entered his mind saying "I'll help" he knew he hadn't been alone in thinking about it.

* * *

"Say that again Harry" Ron said his face a mask of confusion.

It was the day after Harry's triumph in the First Task and all of the New Marauders were lounging around in the Room of Requirement eating their lunch "I said that somethings up with Moody" Harry repeated for what felt the umpteenth time.

"He's probably just being eccentric Harry" Neville said sensibly "you know what Moody's like".

"Yeah I do know what he's like" Harry replied chewing his lip "that's just the problem. The Moody I know wouldn't act the way he has been".

"Moody's been the same as he always has Harry, you're reading too much into it".

Hermione weighed in "Harry might have something. He's been giving Harry some very odd looks since he came here to teach and usually he's friendly to Harry".

"Not to mention that he used the Unforgivable Curses" Draco added "me and Harry have know Moody since we were young and he's always said he hates them and he'd never use them even to demonstrate".

"I agree with Harry, Draco and Hermione" Ginny declared followed shortly by Luna "I think we need to get into his office and find out what he has in those flasks".

"Good idea Ginny" Harry said "he's hiding something I'm sure of it".

Hermione now looked worried though "but he's a teacher" she said nervously "won't we get into trouble for breaking into his office?".

"Possibly" Harry replied "but what would you prefer, letting him get away with whatever he's up to or catching him?".

Hermione sighed "alright fine, but we need a good plan".

Afternoon classes went quickly and soon the New Marauders found themselves up in their common room clustered around with all of the other Gryffindor's who'd been called to a meeting by their Head of House Professor McGonagall "anyone know what this is about?" Harry asked Seamus.

Seamus shook his head "not sure, just that McGonagall wants to talk to us".

"You haven't pulled any pranks recently have you Harry?" Dean said.

Harry laughed "no we haven't".

Just then the portrait hole opened and in stepped Professor McGonagall looking as severe as ever.

Harry still couldn't believe what she'd told them earlier that week. The whole house had been told that everyone that a Yule Ball would be taking place this year due to the Triwizard Tournament.

Needless to say after that announcement most of the House signed up to stay at Hogwarts save for those below Fourth Year who hadn't been invited by anyone.

Harry was not very happy about the fact he'd have to stay at Hogwarts on Christmas Day.

He loved Hogwarts like a third home but the fact was that he had never yet missed a family Christmas at Marauder Manor and he didn't like the idea of having to start now.

McGonagall had explained it as his attendance being mandatory due to his being a Champion.

As McGonagall called everyone's attention to her her he came back to the present and concentrated on what she was saying "as I have told you all the Yule Ball is taking place on Christmas Day and I understand that most of you are staying here for it" she gazed round at them with piercing eyes "now I'm sure some of you that know how to dance but also a great many that don't, as a result those of you who don't and have no one to teach you will be offered dancing coaching by me".

Following this announcement the meeting broke up and McGonagall called Harry over to speak to her "I strongly suggest you have some dancing coaching too Harry" she advised.

"Why?" he said in puzzlement.

"Because Harry the Champions and their partners open the dancing at the Yule Ball".

Harry gaped at her in open horror at this "b..b...but I c..c..can't d..dance!" he stammered "I'm awful!".

The Professor just about restrained herself from rolling her eyes in response "I know that Harry which is why you need dancing coaching. I assume your Parents can teach you" she said.

Harry nodded feeling ill. A thought came to him "but I hate being gawked at!" he protested "you know that, I don't do well with everyone staring at me!".

McGonagall patted his arm reassuringly "I'm sure with Miss Weasley there you won't notice anyone" she said.

She then exited the common room and Harry flopped down heavily onto a sofa and held his head in his hands.

Ron approached and sat down "what's up mate?" he asked sounding a bit worried.

Harry groaned "I have to open the dancing at the Yule Ball" he said miserably.

Ron commiserated patting him on the back "I'll look an idiot Ron. I'll make Ginny look an idiot. I'm a horrible dancer".

Ron smiled "then there's only one thing left to do" he said.

Harry looked at him pleadingly "contact your Mum and Dad and get their help in learning to dance. I'm sure Dumbledore will let you go home this weekend".

Harry stared at him for a second before his face lit up into a massive grin. He kissed Ron on the forehead "Ron you are a bloody genius!" he shouted before realising "eurgh I just kissed you on the forehead!".

* * *

That night Harry contacted his Parents on the two way mirror and was pleased to find that his Dad wasn't busy.

"Harry!" his Dad said in surprise.

James set aside his glass of beer "something up?" he asked in concern.

Harry laughed "no Dad I'm fine I just...it's...we..." he faltered unsure of how to say it "you know that the Yule Ball is happening here on Christmas Day" his Father nodded.

"Well" Harry continued 'here goes nothing' he thought and then said "I need to learn how to dance so I can open the dancing!" he blurted out.

His Dad broke into a wide grin "is that all?" he said "no need to be so worried about that Son" his Dad assured him "I assume you want some help from me and your Mum".

Harry nodded feeling foolish for worrying so much "we'd love to help, if I do say so myself I'm an excellent dancer".

Harry laughed loudly at his Dad's boast "you never change Dad" he remarked through his tears.

His Dad smiled "neither do you. Come on over tomorrow morning. You can have lunch here at the Manor and I'll teach you how to dance".

"Thanks Dad I really appreciate it" Harry said feeling grateful.

"I assume you're taking a certain redhead named Ginny Weasley".

Harry nodded and chuckled "I wouldn't dare ask anyone else" he joked "you know the famous redhead temper" he said.

His Dad nodded "I do indeed. Well I'll see you tomorrow Son. I'll let your Mother know".

Harry nodded. His Dad's face disappeared and Harry ended the call feeling much happier and more confident than he had before the conversation.

* * *

The next morning Harry walked up to Dumbledore's Office. Walking next to him were Draco and Molly who had evidently also asked to be taught to dance.

He smirked as he thought of the reason both wanted teaching.

He knew that with Luna being Draco's girlfriend he'd ask her to go the ball while Molly would hope for Neville to ask her if he hadn't already.

"I'm guessing you've invited Luna" he said to his Brother as they reached the gargoyles guarding the spiral staircase.

His Brother grinned "yep and she said yes" Draco said happily.

Harry smiled. He was really happy for Draco and for Luna.

"Has a certain black haired boy asked you yet?" Harry asked his Sister.

"Yeah Sis" Draco added.

Molly smiled "he was a bit nervous about it but yeah he asked me".

"He'd better behave himself" Harry warned.

"Harry!" she exclaimed and glared at him.

Draco and Harry laughed and Draco gave the password to get to Dumbledore's Office "fizzing whizbees".

The gargoyles sprang aside to reveal the staircase.

The three of them stepped on it and stood still as it spiralled upwards towards the corridor in which lay the entrance to the Headmasters Office.

In a short time the staircase stopped moving and the three Siblings stepped off and began walking down the corridor towards his office.

To the surprise of none of them the doors opened before they had even reached them and behind the desk they saw a smiling Dumbledore.

As they entered they all said "hello Professor".

The twinkle was very bright in the old wizards eyes today "hello Harry, Draco, Molly, I hear you are off to have some dancing coaching".

Harry grimaced in embarrassment as did Draco.

"There is no reason to be embarrassed about it boys" Dumbledore assured them amiably "believe it or not I once needed to have dancing coaching as well".

Harry and Draco gaped at him in stunned disbelief and the old wizard laughed "oh yes I did. My Parents used to say I had two left feet when I was a child".

He laughed heartily and the Siblings joined in.

The three of them waved goodbye to Dumbledore, took some floo powder, stepped into the fireplace and threw it down saying clearly "Marauder Manor!".

After flying past numerous fireplaces Harry and his Siblings found their feet touch solid stone.

Harry peeked his head out and took a look round "we're here" he said grinning.

They stepped out and were met by Molter the House Elf who was personally loyal to Harry now.

"Master Harry, Master Draco, Mistress Molly!" he said happily as he bowed.

Harry had managed to get him to take wages weekends off and to not bow so low but he'd not been able to get the elf out of the habit of calling him Master.

He wasn't very comfortable with being called such but decided not to say anything "hey Molter good to see you" Harry said with a smile "where are Mum and Dad?".

The House Elf smiled back "Master James and Mistress Lucy are in the Ballroom clearing away the furniture".

Harry thanked him and made to move off as Draco and Molly greeted the House Elf and followed him.

As they reached the Ballroom and pushed the door open Harry could hear the sound of music floating through into the hallway. Harry knew at once it was his Dad's Queen Album as he could pick up the first notes of Don't Stop Me Now which was one of his favourite tracks.

"Mum, Dad, we're here!" Harry called out.

"Oh Harry, Molly, Draco there you are" his Mother said as she walked across the Ballroom and greeted her Children and Nephew and with hugs.

Just then James appeared and greeted them as well "so, ready to dance?" he asked them all with a grin.

Harry noticed that Molly looked eager while thoughts from Draco told him that his Brother was as nervous as he was "I can't believe we have to do this I've always had awful footwork!".

"I know but just follow Mum and Dad's directions and you'll be fine" Harry assured his Brother.

"Now the first dance we're going to show you is called the two step. Watch me and James. Molly follow my movement, Harry, Draco follow James' movement. Ok?".

The three of them nodded.

James and Lucy stepped up to each other grasped hands together, got their feet in position and began to move effortlessly back and forth in a two step motion.

The three children watched in amazement at the dancing.

After some time James and Lucy stopped dancing and James called out "Molly you try with Harry now".

Harry and Molly took their place. Unlike their Parents it was not effortless. There was much stepping on toes and accidental head bumping before they began to improve.

After Harry, Draco took a turn with Molly and managed to do very well as Harry knew he would.

The dancing coaching went on until lunch which they had at the Manor. They then carried on throughout that Saturday afternoon mastering the two step and moving on to other dances that were likely to pop up during the ball.

The three of them stayed at the Manor until seven pm when they flooed back to Hogwarts after having dinner.

When they entered the common room that night they found Ron, Ginny, Neville and Hermione all sitting close to the fire talking in hushed voices.

The chatter ceased when they realised that their friends were back "alright guys?" Ron said "we were just talking over an idea we had for getting into Moody's Office and searching".

Harry, Draco and Molly sat down with Harry slipping onto the sofa next to Ginny and squeezing her hand, a gesture she returned with a smile "carry on" Harry said to Ron and the others.

"Well" Ron began "we figure that a few of us need to corner Moody outside of his office and engage him in conversation about school work or whatever and that if we have four of us do it two can snoop around his office while one warns of danger".

Harry grinned "I should have know you lot would come up with a genius plan in just a few hours. It'll take a lot of learning his routine though" he cautioned.

And so just like that they had a plan.

* * *

The next day Harry, Draco and Molly returned to the Manor again for further dancing coaching which meant they were absent from Hogwarts for most of the day and thus it was not until late when they returned and agreed with the others that the search of Moody's Office would have to wait until Friday night so they had time to observe his routine.

That next week passed uneventfully enough.

There were no strange occurrences and no run ins with Nott and his goons. The New Marauders merely got on with their homework and classes.

One thing did occur mid week however.

It was on Wednesday at lunchtime.

As it was a surprisingly sunny day for November and in fact was the last day before winter began.

The whole group of New Marauders had decided to just grab some food from the kitchens and eat it outside near the Black Lake.

They had walked for some way until they reached the very tree which Harry and Ginny had rested against on their picnic.

Some of them settled down against the tree while others gazed into the lake at the Giant Squid who was doing laps.

Harry decided to approach the lake itself and stared down into it's murky depths, deep in thought.

While he was thinking he lent forward, his school bag fell from his shoulders and he realised to his horror that he had forgotten to zip it up and as a result the Dragons Egg for which he had flown so hard, was rolling down the bank.

He scrambled after it but could not stop it before it fell with a splash into the lakes might depths.

In full blown panic and ignoring the cries of the others, he jumped in after it.

To his great relief he managed to catch it halfway down.

He had no idea what made him do it but as he floated in the lake, the egg clutched in his hand, something whispered to him to open it.

Thinking to himself that it was most likely a waste of time he nevertheless listened to the voice, turned the top of the egg and waited for the horrible screeching sound as had happened every other time he'd opened it.

However, instead of the screeching sound ethereal music ushered forth from the egg and a voice sung softly "come seek us where our voices sound, you'll not hear us above the ground, an hour long you'll have to look to recover what we took. While you're listening ponder this, we've taken what you'll sorely miss. Past an hour the prospects black, too late it's gone and won't come back".

Harry gaped in astonishment but listened several more times until he was absolutely certain he'd heard not just every word but every letter to get it right.

He then swam upwards and broke the surface of the water.

He reached the shore and was pulled carefully from the lake by Ron and Neville.

"Harry what happened!" Ginny said sounding hysterical.

He was quick to reassure her as he uttered the incantation for the drying charm "nothing to worry about Gin Gin I'm fine".

He didn't realise he was grinning until his Brother demanded "what's so amusing?".

Harry gazed round at them all smiling broadly "when I got to the egg I opened it and instead of the usual screeching sound I heard the clue".

Harry said to Neville "Nev, get parchment, a quill and some ink quickly. I need to write it while I remember it".

Neville jumped to it fishing the required items out of Harry's bag while Hermione also took up position with some writing implements.

Harry relayed the clue to them word for word thankful that he had a good memory for information.

When it was written down all of the New Marauders crowded round and Ron began to read it through several times "come seek us where our voices sound?" he said in confusion "what does that mean?".

Hermione sighed in frustration "it could mean any number of things..." she paused and caught Draco's eye.

It seemed Harry's Brother had just had the same thought as her "the Black Lake!".

"What?" Harry said in confusion.

"Don't you see Harry?" Hermione said in excitement "whatever the next task is it must involve the Black Lake!".

"Yeah. You were able to open the egg under water and hear the clue so I'd guess it involves something under water" Draco said as he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Must do. This line says you'll not hear us above the ground, so they must either be in a cave or under water and I'd bet ten galleons it's under water and there's nowhere else under water here except the lake" Neville pointed out.

"But what can the task be?" Ginny said.

"we've taken what you'll sorely miss" Luna read in her soft voice "isn't it obvious?" she said.

Everyone shook their heads and the Ravenclaw rolled her eyes "something or someone that Harry values the most in the world will be taken to the Black Lake and kept there for him to rescue and complete the task".

Suddenly everyone realised.

Ron was paling as he stared at first Harry and then Ginny.

Everyone else was staring at Ginny too including Harry, his face a mask of abject horror "no...they can't" he said simply, in denial of the facts "I won't let them" he declared.

"You will have no choice Harry" Hermione reasoned "if Ginny is the most precious person in the world to you she'll be part of the task".

Harry knew she was right and he collapsed to the dirt as a wave of intense guilt washed over him.

If he didn't love her she wouldn't be getting put in this position "this can't happen" he muttered over and over.

"What have I done?" he held his head in his hands feeling despair.

What if something happened to Ginny during the task?.

He knew the answer to that. He'd never forgive himself.

"Harry" a gentle voice said.

Harry ignored it until it said more insistently "Harry, look at me!".

He raised his head from his hands and gazed into Ginny's warm brown eyes so full of tenderness "you are not to blame yourself Harry Potter" she said sharply "that's an order".

She put a hand under his chin "you love me and I love you. That's all that matters".

She pulled him into a hug and in that hug they stayed for a long time just breathing in each others scent.

"You bravest person in the world" he said in a choked voice.

* * *

Over the next week and a half Harry and the others staked out at various locations observing Moody's movements.

They found that the Defence teacher generally only came out of his living quarters to teach lessons and to eat.

They also found that he would return to his office at night, casting looks around as if suspecting someone to be watching, went in and usually locked the door behind him.

Consulting the map Harry could see that he would hurry to a specific spot in his office each time and then stop there for a while.

He would eventually emerge casting a furtive glance into the shadows.

Not only did all this seem suspicious but Moody also drank out of a hip flask. This fact in of itself would not have meant anything were it not for the fact that no matter how many sips he took from it he never got tipsy.

It was finally the ten of December. It was a Hogsmeade weekend which was one of the key reasons for choosing it.

The plan which they were about to put into operation was thus, Harry and Draco would break into Moody's Office and search for evidence while Neville, Hermione and Ron kept Moody busy.

Luna and Ginny would be stationed outside the office as look outs and to get help if necessary.

It was the afternoon when the New Marauders put the plan into operation.

At the time, Moody was in the Great Hall eating lunch and conversing a bit with Dumbledore.

"The coasts clear!" Ginny informed Harry and Draco.

The two of them approached the office door.

Draco took out his wand and muttered "Alohamora". The door swung open to admit them and they closed it quietly.

They then began their search.

The search had been going on for ten minutes and despite checking every possible area they couldn't find anything incriminating.

Harry was just about to say to Draco that they should give up as a waste of time when his Brother shouted out "hey Harry come over here!".

Harry ran over to him "what is it?". "vials of potion" Draco said grimly.

He took one out of it's rack, uncorked it, sniffed and gagged at the smell "that's Polyjuice" he said holding his nose "no doubt about it. I'd remember that smell anywhere".

"That settles it then" Harry said feeling disappointed "whoever the man is that's teaching us Defence it isn't Moody. We need to tell Dumbledore".

At that moment he heard a muttered spell "Petrificus Totalis" and saw Draco pitch forwards completely frozen.

He was hit with a stunning spell that left him dazed and then hit with a full body bind.

He was hauled up roughly onto a chair and there was no mistake in recognising who the person was that had attacked them. It was Alastor Moody.

* * *

Authors Note: I'm going to end the chapter here so it doesn't overrun like the last one.

What will happen to Harry and Draco?.

What happened to their look outs and their distraction?.

Wait and see in chapter Thirty Four.

Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter.


	34. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter content belongs to JK Rowling I make no profit from this story.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Four: New Marauders in Danger, Christmas Shopping & Yule Ball

Ron, Neville and Hermione waited not far from Moody's Office planning to stop him and engage him in conversation that would hopefully not be seen as an attempt to distract him.

They had already gone over what they would say earlier in the week and had agreed to bombard him with questions about DADA, how they were doing, how they could improve and all that.

The hope was that this talk would give Harry and Draco enough time to find whatever it was they needed to find or to rule out any wrongdoing by Moody.

Hermione herself did not feeling too many misgivings about Moody, I mean sure he was a bit odd but when had they ever had a truly normal Defence Professor.

Professor Quirrell in their First Year turned out to be helping Voldemort to steal the Philosophers Stone and actually had Voldemort's head on the back of his own.

Professor Lockhart whom she had admired turned out to want Harry dead and for that was willing to help cause chaos at Hogwarts.

And of course last year they had been taught by Harry, Draco and Molly's Uncle Remus who was a really nice guy but of course had the unfortunate problem of turning into a werewolf on every full moon.

So...no, Hermione reflected. They had never had a completely normal Defence teacher and with the position cursed in Hermione's opinion she didn't think they ever would.

"Here he comes" Ron said.

The three of them watched on their copy of the Marauders Map as the dot representing Moody began to turn the corner.

They heard the clack clacking of his wooden leg as he walked.

Ron quickly folded up the map and stashed it in his zip up jeans pocket just as Moody rounded the corner and stopped to stare at the three of them.

"Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, Mr Longbottom" he said in his usual growl.

They greeted him as well and then Hermione said "do you have some time to spare Professor? we really need to talk to you".

Moody looked irritated by this "I'm sure it can wait. I'm very busy" he made a motion for them to move.

Ron improvised by falling over hoping to make Moody concerned.

It worked as Moody begrudgingly helped him up "please can you spare some time" Hermione pleaded.

Moody's scarred face grimaced and he reluctantly replied "alright but I haven't got long".

"Excellent thank you Professor" Hermione beamed happily and then the three students began to bombard him with various questions that he did he best to answer, from what's my grade down to what is your lesson plan for this week.

After seven minutes of this Moody finally snapped in anger "get out my way you idiots!" he growled.

He shoved Hermione out of the way. She hit her head hard of the stone wall, slid down it and lay still except for the rise and fall of her chest.

"Stop!" Ron shouted as he whipped out his wand "don't come any closer!".

"You think you can best me boy?" Moody said in amusement "I was duelling people before you were even born!".

They did duel for a short time as Neville helped but were soon bested as Ron made a mistake, lost his wand and was hit with a knockback Jinx that knocked him out as Hermione was.

This left Neville all alone to stand up to the Professor.

Neville fought bravely but he lost his footing as he fell over Ron "Expeliarmus" Moody said lazily and Neville's wand flew from his hand and into Moody's "better luck next time boy" he said with a smirk and a cruel laugh.

"Why are you doing this?" Neville asked in confusion.

"Why do you think boy?". Moody aimed his wand at Neville "Crucio" he said with relish.

Neville writhed and screamed on the floor in pain as the spell hit him.

Moody kept it applied for a fifteen agonising seconds before letting it go.

He stepped over Neville and headed for his office "who the hell are you?!" Neville demanded.

Moody turned around "because you're brat of a friend defeated my Master and lost me everything!".

He then left leaving Neville to struggle to comprehend what he had been told.

"My Master and I lost everything" spun round in his mind until he made the connection "oh my god" he gasped out weakly "there's a Deatheater at Hogwarts".

* * *

Luna waited for only a moment under the cloak as Ginny was incapacitated by Moody and dragged into the classroom, the door of which clicked shut indicating that the Defence teacher had locked it.

Luna did not stop to consider why it had been locked, she only knew that two of her friends and her boyfriend were in grave danger.

Every instinct told her Moody was up to something bad.

She turned from the door, whipped off the cloak and ran as hard and fast as she could.

She ran down corridors that twisted and turned, down staircases, until finally, when her lungs were screaming for air and she felt she could run no longer, she reached the Great Hall.

She staggered down the central aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables causing people to stare at her in concern, in confusion or in amusement.

Somehow her feet moved on their own and she reached the Staff table at which currently sat the three Professors with whom she had been intending to speak.

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were in conversation on some point or other while Professor Snape was watching her in concern.

As she rested her hands on the table, panting in an effort to get her breath back the Professor turned to the Headmaster next to him and said "Headmaster I think Miss Lovegood would like a word".

Luna noted that the words did not betray any trace of concern for what might have happened but that there was an anxious look in his dark eyes.

"Miss Lovegood is something amiss?" Dumbledore asked in concern.

Luna nodded "please can I speak to the three of you in private Professors?" she asked in between panting.

Professor Dumbledore took a few moments to regard her before nodding. He had a quiet word with both Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall.

Luna heard him ask "tell Filius as well".

The Head of Gryffindor House got up, pushed her chair in and strode over to where Professor Flitwick was engaged in an animated discussion.

'Probably about Charms' Luna thought with a smile.

There was a reason after all that Professor Flitwick had been chosen to be Charms teacher, he was obsessed with the subject. He even held a Charms club on the weekends.

"I see" the diminutive Professor said as Professor McGonagall informed him. He looked at Luna standing nearby and flashed her a kind smile which she halfheartedly returned.

A few more moments passed and then they were all outside the doors of the Great Hall and the Professors were waiting for her to speak.

Luna took a deep breath and launched into the explanation of what she had seen.

When she was finished, both Professors Snape and McGonagall looked shocked while Professor Dumbledore was stroking his long white beard thoughtfully.

"Alastor wouldn't just attack a student would he?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Professor Dumbledore shook his head resolutely "Alastor has only ever gone after those who deserve it. He has never harmed anyone who is not a dark wizard and I can't see him starting now".

Professor Snape was next to speak in his usual calm voice "I think it's clear what has happened" he said.

Professor Dumbledore nodded in agreement but Professor McGonagall looked shocked "my dear Severus you surely aren't suggesting...".

"I am not suggesting it my dear Minerva I am stating it as fact" Professor Snape said seriously "I've been thinking for the past two months that something was a bit off about our esteemed Defence Professor but I just put it down to his being more paranoid than usual".

"Something had clearly happened" Professor Dumbledore agreed.

He turned to Luna "and you say that your friends Mr Weasley, Mr Longbottom and Miss Granger were supposed to distract him while Harry and Draco searched the office?".

Luna nodded "that's right Professor. The plan was they would keep him distracted for long enough to allow Harry and Draco to complete the search and get away".

"Hmm" he replied thoughtfully "in that case something must have happened to them".

"They could be hurt or...or..." Professor McGonagall could not finish the statement.

"We should find them at once" Professor Snape said.

And so the four of them searched in the most likely place that the three students would be, namely the corridor near Moody's Office.

It took only moments to discover the three Gryffindor's lying on the stone floor of the corridor.

Luna could see even from a distance that Ron and Hermione were either unconscious or sleeping while Neville seemed to be in much pain from something.

Luna ran over to her friends but felt at a loss as to what to do to help them. She no trained healer. She supposed she could try using Enervate to wake Ron and Hermione up but she didn't want to risk it in case they had head injuries.

Instead she chose a practical decision. She turned to the Headmaster and said resolutely "Professor, if you stay with my friends I'll go and speak to Madam Pomfrey and let her know what's happened".

Dumbledore beamed at her "a very good suggestion Miss Lovegood, I'll send Professor McGonagall with you to help explain".

Luna nodded.

She left with the Head of Gryffindor and the two of them moved as fast as they could along corridors and down stairs until they reached the Hospital Wing.

Luna supposed that Professor McGonagall could have sent a Patronus but that would likely not have got the urgency across.

They opened the Hospital Wing doors with a bang and strode in purposefully.

Madam Pomfrey had just finished setting the bones in the hand of a Fifth Year when she spotted them.

She came over and asked "what is the emergency?".

She began looking over Luna "it's not Miss Lovegood" Professor McGonagall told the Medi Witch in a tight voice "it's Mr Weasley...Ronald, Miss Granger and Mr Longbottom, they have been attacked...by Alastor Moody".

The Medi Witch gasped "I don't believe it. He wouldn't!" she said in shock.

The Professor was quick to reassure the other witch "we don't believe it actually is him Poppy" she said seriously.

"But...then...who?" the Medi Witch asked looking both worried and nonplussed.

Professor McGonagall sighed as if unable to believe what she was about to say "we believe that the man teaching Defence is not the real Alastor Moody".

Madam Pomfrey gasped again but the Professor continued "we believe that he must have taken the real Alastor Moody's place here at Hogwarts. When? we don't know".

"Well..." Madam Pomfrey said obviously feeling at a loss for words for a change "I'd better grab my healers bag and accompany you back to the corridor where the three students are".

After a few minutes the Medi Witch had grabbed everything she would need from bandages to potions and placed it all in her bag which she had secured by magic to her hand.

The three of them then headed back to the spot in which they had left the three students and other two Professors.

When they arrived Madam Pomfrey wasted no time in examining the students were clearly in a bad way "Mr Weasley and Miss Granger both have fractured skulls and Mr Weasley has bleeding on the brain" she informed them tightly "I shall contact St Mungo's as I will need some additional help to make him better. Miss Granger should be alright once I do this..." she knelt down, waved her wand at Hermione's head and muttered an incantation "hopefully that should fix her skull and she should wake up soon" she informed them.

She checked Neville last and the results of her examination spell must have shocked her to her core because she actually had tears in her eyes when she stood back up and spoke to the others "he's been subjected to the Cruciatus Curse" she said emotionally.

It was decided that Hermione, Ron and Neville would be taken down to the Hospital Wing to be cared for by Madam Pomfrey with help from Luna while the three Professors would head for the most obvious place that "Alastor Moody" could be.

Before they could leave though, Neville was pulling himself to his feet and hobbling over to the Professors despite the loud objections of Madam Pomfrey and of Luna "Professors I'm going with you" he said in a tone that brooked no argument.

Luna watch in surprise as none of the three professors refused.

On the contrary she saw respect from Professor Snape and admiration from Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall as if they had known that Neville would make such a choice.

"Be careful" Luna urged her friend in concern as he hobbled away with the Professors.

* * *

Harry sat on the chair feeling dazed and confused and tried to get his bearings back.

It wasn't easy as in the rush of being stunned and bound his glasses had fallen off which meant that all he could make out was blurry shapes including the blurred outline of a rather rotund man. At least...he thought it was a man.

Suddenly, he felt rough hands on his face and his glasses were slipped back on.

The room and everything around him came into sharp focus including his brother lying frozen on the floor and Moody rummaging about the office "who are you really?" Harry demanded from the man who had his back to him.

The man turned round presenting him with the face of Alastor Moody "I know that's not your real face and that you aren't really Alastor Moody" Harry said confidently.

The man grinned which was a rather grotesque sight given the missing chunk of nose and the countless scars "very good Potter. I knew you weren't a fool" he said with a laugh "but you see it'll do ya no good now".

Harry was alarmed to notice that on the desk in front of him lay an object that would have looked just like any other common object in normal circumstances but he had the feeling that it was important.

A realisation hit him. 'The object is a portkey!'.

The worry on his face must have shown for the wizard grinned at him "yes Potter, I'm taking you somewhere very important" he got up in Harry's face "we're gonna have a little...party".

Harry gulped at the sinister way in which this was said.

He knew he had to stall for time. He couldn't allow whoever this person was to abduct him "what you think no one is coming here to stop you?" he said to the man.

"I took care of your little friends so I don't think I have much to worry about" the man responded.

Harry grinned at this "I don't suppose you happened to see a girl with blonde hair" he said.

The other wizard frowned at this "there were only the six of you" he replied.

Harry laughed and laughed until his face hurt with the effort "oh you idiot" he said through the laughter "there are seven of us and you let one get away".

He laughed more "you are finished" he said triumphantly.

"Silence boy!" the other wizard roared in anger.

Harry felt a searing pain on his cheek and knew the slashing spell had been used to cut his cheek "keep talking and I will inflict more pain" the wizard warned coldly.

Harry spat "bring it on arsehole" he said defiantly.

The wizard approached him and backhanded him "I said shut it!" he bellowed.

Harry grinned. This was going better than he'd hoped.

He knew that by now Luna would have got help and people would be on their way here.

"Now we are leaving" the other wizard said as he grabbed Harry and hauled him to his feet.

He floated the portkey ahead of them and shoved Harry roughly down the steps from the office causing him to fall face first.

The man pulled him up by his t-shirt and showed Harry a sight that made his blood run cold. It was Ginny.

She was bound and gagged.

All of Harry's defiance left him as he saw her.

He knew then that he would do anything this man asked to keep her safe "if you don't come with me now she dies!" the man declared as he pointed his wand at her.

"No please!" Harry shouted "I'll go with you!".

He saw Ginny's eyes widen in surprise and...anger.

He was sure if she could speak she'd tell him not to be so bloody stupid but he couldn't take the risk.

This wizard held all the cards and could dispose of them whenever he felt like it.

The wizard began floating the portkey over to him.

It was halfway to them when a loud bang resounded through the classroom and through the smoke Harry could see four figures emerge.

Professor Dumbledore he had expected as he did the other two Professors.

It was the identity of the four among them that surprised him "Neville!" he exclaimed unable to believe it.

He was so relieved that his friend was alright "Harry!" Neville said sounding just as relieved.

"Take one step towards me and they both die!" the wizard holding Harry snarled.

Harry's Uncle Severus took a step closer but was forced to duck after the Blasting Curse was levelled at him.

The curse missed and took out a cabinet behind the Potions Master.

"I'll be going now" the wizard sneered.

He inched towards the portkey only to double over in pain as Harry kicked him in a very unfortunate place "the hell you are!" Harry shouted.

He wondered briefly why he hadn't kicked him before.

Professor McGonagall whipped a spell at him that released his bonds and he took the chance to snatch his wand and Ginny's.

He rolled away from the wizard, threw a spell at Ginny untying her and taking off the gag.

"You alright love?" he asked in concern as he ran a hand through her hair and over her face.

Ginny nodded with a smile "fine love, fine" she assured.

They was forced to duck away as a full on spell battle was taking place between the three Professors and the other wizard.

"Neville the vase is a portkey!" Harry shouted to their friend.

Neville clearly heard these words as he pointed his wand at the vase resting on the desk and shouted "Bombarda!".

The vase was blasted to smithereens and the wizard howled in fury "no!".

The momentary distraction gave Dumbledore the opening as he fired the Knockback Jinx at the wizard who went flying into a section of wall underneath a tall window and lay on the floor trying to struggle to his feet as his wooden leg had fallen off.

Professor McGonagall headed over to Harry and Ginny as did Neville "Harry, Ginevra. Are you alright?" she asked in concern.

They both assured her they were largely unharmed she stayed with them as Professors Dumbledore and Snape advanced on the wizard.

"Who are you?" Dumbledore demanded calmly and then a bit more loudly demanded "where is Alastor Moody?".

The wizard spat "oh he's here" he said with a smirk.

"Where in the room!" Dumbledore shouted in rage.

The energy in the room changed as the temperature warmed up and Dumbledore's power was displayed.

The wizard laughed "like I'll tell you" he said.

Dumbledore eyed the man coldly "Severus go and fetch a vial of Veritaserum. I think it's time we had a chat with this...thing".

Severus nodded and left the room without a word.

He returned half an hour later just as he something very odd began to occur.

It was something that Harry recognised fairly well.

The Polyjuice potion was beginning to wear off and soon they would see who this wizard really was.

The man began to thrash about furiously as the effects of potion began to wear off.

The magical eye fell with a loud thump onto the stone floor and rolled to a stop at Dumbledore's feet.

He picked it up and continued to watch as the man's body and face began to morph. The scars began to disappear, the hair got shorter and changed colour and he became thinner and thinner.

Harry saw the Professors tense up at the sight before them and wondered what could be so shocking about the man.

Harry stood up, pulled Ginny to her feet and they walked over to Dumbledore, Neville just behind them.

"Who is he Professor?" Harry asked feeling curious.

Without taking his eyes from the man who Professor McGonagall had now bound, he said "this, Harry, is Bartemius Crouch Jr. The Deatheater that escaped Ministry custody in 1981".

Harry gaped at the man in shock "not the Deatheater who was in the same trial as Lucius Malfoy!".

Dumbledore nodded "one and the same Harry. Though what he is doing at Hogwarts I know not".

Crouch struggled against his bonds "you think these will hold me!" he shouted madly.

Professors Snape and McGonagall approached him.

McGonagall held the mans mouth open while Snape tipped some drops of serum down the mans throat.

In mere moments the mans face changed.

His eyes became glassy and he took on distant vacant expression as if he was staring at something far away.

"What is your name?" Snape asked.

Professor McGonagall was ready with quill, ink and parchment "Bartemius Crouch Jr" responded the captive wizard.

"When were you born?" Snape asked next "the twentieth of April nineteen sixty two" Crouch answered serenely.

"Are you a Deatheater?" Snape asked.

"Yes I am" came the reply.

"Lift up your left sleeve" Snape instructed.

Crouch did as bid and everyone was able to see a faint black tattoo of a snake wrapped round a skull.

It was the Dark Mark.

"What is your purpose here at Hogwarts?" Snape asked finally.

With a slight smile the wizard launched into an explanation of the plan.

They learned that he had, as feared, been sent by Voldemort. They were told that he had been sent to impersonate Alastor Moody in order that Voldemort would have a spy on the inside.

The next portion of the explanation put to rest a mystery that Harry and he was sure other people, had been puzzling and pondering over for months.

"At the instruction of my Master I fooled the age line that that old fool Dumbledore had placed round the Goblet, confunded the Goblet and placed Harry Potters name in under a fourth school in order that he should be forced to compete in the Triwizard Tournament".

Harry couldn't believe it.

He finally knew who had forced him into such a dangerous and pointless tournament. He shouted "you bastard!" and made to lunge at Crouch.

Neville, Ginny and Dumbledore held him back "not until he has been questioned Harry" the Headmaster warned.

Harry settled down slightly but still simmered with rage.

"Why did you enter Harry Potters name?" Snape asked Crouch.

The other wizard replied "I was to give Harry Potter assistance to reach the last task and help him reach the cup in the middle of the maze. He would touch the cup and be transported by portkey to a location where my Master would be waiting and a ritual would be performed to bring him back to full power".

This information sent a chill round everyone else in the room. Harry was shocked at the plan they had foiled.

It had been planned that he would be part of a dark ritual!.

"Does your Master have a backup plan in case this should fail?" Snape asked.

The wizard replied "no he does not expect me to fail".

Everyone was silent following this answer as they all digested the information.

Dumbledore seemed to be trying to work out what to do. Finally he said "Minerva go up to my office and firecall the Minister, we need her here right away with the very top Aurors. Mr Crouch Jr shall not be escaping again" he said coldly as he surveyed the wizard bound in front of him.

The Professor left swiftly and without a word.

Once she was gone Professor Snape asked one final question that was of paramount importance "where is Alastor Moody?".

The bound wizard responded "locked away at the very bottom of the trunk over by the blackboard".

Professor Snape searched the prisoners pockets and found a key. He handed it to Professor Dumbledore and then stood guard as the old wizard and Harry strode over to the trunk.

Dumbledore put the key in the lock and turned. He was rewarded with a satisfying clicking sound to show that it had unlocked.

Dumbledore pushed the top of the trunk open and he and Harry peered down inside.

Despite it being a very deep trunk and thus a long way to the bottom they could still see a figure lying on his side looking much the worse for wear.

He had great chunks of his fair hair missing and of course the eye socket in which his magical eye was usually kept was empty but there was no mistaking the man, it **was **Alastor Moody.

As Harry looked down at the man who had been a mentor to his Father and Godfather and who had always attended Harry's birthday, he felt a stab of burning hatred for the bound man by the window who had done this "are you alright Alastor?" Dumbledore called down to the man in concern.

Moody shifted and looked up in surprise "Albus" he croaked, his voice hoarse from lack of use "I'm a bit banged up but I'll be fine I'm out of here".

Dumbledore nodded "not to worry Alastor we'll soon have you out".

Shortly after, Professor McGonagall arrived "I've firecalled the Minister and explained the situation. She's on her way with Aurors Potter, Black, Shacklebolt and Longbottom".

Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction "very good Minerva. Please take over from Severus guarding our prisoner".

She voiced agreement and went over to where Snape stood, his wand trained on the other wizard. After a short conversation he joined Dumbledore and Harry by the trunk "what did you need Headmaster?" he asked.

"I need you to assess Alastors condition and whether he can be moved".

Snape nodded and climbed into the trunk.

As he was assessing Moody, the door to the classroom banged open and in rushed James Potter, Sirius Black and Frank Longbottom. All were looking very panic stricken and clearly in need of reassurance.

Kingsley Shacklebolt entered more calmly and said "hello Professor Dumbledore" who answered back "hello Auror Shacklebolt".

The Minister of Magic Amelia Bones entered last "I assume I've been sent for for a good reason Albus" she said calmly only to freeze in place when her eyes locked on to someone she had not seen for thirteen years "Albus is that...is it..." she faltered and gaped at Dumbledore who nodded calmly.

"As you will be aware I appointed my old friend Alastor Moody to the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for this year. What you will not know and we at Hogwarts have only found out today, is that my friend never got round to teaching. In fact he never got to take up the position".

The Minister looked incredulous. Dumbledore continued "this man Barty Crouch Jr with help from an unknown assailant attacked and kidnapped Alastor. He was locked in his own trunk and Crouch has been using Polyjuice potion to impersonate Alastor since September".

"Good god Albus this is awful!" the Minister exclaimed in shock.

"We must take him back to the Ministry and keep a twenty four seven watch on him" she said.

"I'm only going to let him leave if the most trustworthy Aurors guard him. No junior ones like last time" he warned seriously "this time he must be dealt with".

The Minister nodded.

While their talk was going on James had embraced his Son tearfully and was making sure Harry was alright "are you ok, did he hurt you?".

Harry shook his head "he slashed my cheek and bound me but other than that I'm fine, it's Ron, Hermione and Draco I'm worried about. They were attack by Moody...well the fake Moody and ended up in the Hospital Wing. I want to see them".

James nodded and ruffled his Sons hair "of course you do. Come on I'll take you there now".

"What about Mr Longbottom and Padfoot?" Harry asked.

"They'll come along once the room is secured" James told his Son.

* * *

Several weeks had now passed since the fake Moody had been caught and arrested.

Life had returned to normal or as normal as a school for wizards ever could be.

Harry and his friends welcomed the return to the normalcy of classes and homework and preparing for Christmas as opposed to the excitement of a few weeks prior.

Neville had been released (much to his relief) after only five days in the Hospital Wing as the shakiness in his body subsided and the last effects of the Cruciatus Curse left him.

It had taken another week before Ron and Hermione were both released due to their head injuries.

A few days before Christmas Alastor Moody left the Hospital Wing being now much stronger and actually able to teach.

Harry had been told that the wizard was spending his time planning his lessons for January and felt great admiration that after being through such an ordeal the man could keep going on as normal.

In the third week of December the New Marauders had all gone Christmas shopping with the boys going round together as did the girls.

Harry had chosen as a present for Ginny, a watch just like his which he hoped she would like as he had known she wanted and needed a new one.

The last few days before Christmas Day were very hectic in the castle with people rushing about all over the place sending off owls with presents and cards and the final preparations for the Yule Ball that was to take place on Christmas Day night.

Harry even saw Hagrid a few times hauling Christmas trees across the grounds and through the halls.

Harry awoke bright and early on Christmas morning. Despite the grounds being covered in a deep blanket of snow he had decided to continue with his routine of morning runs and managed to convince Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Draco to join him. Ron refused, mumbling something about pastries and falling asleep again.

They were joined by Luna and had a good run round the grounds wishing each other a Merry Christmas and chatting about presents, food and the Yule Ball.

By now who would be going with who had already been decided. Harry would be going with Ginny his girlfriend while Draco would be going with Luna, Ron with Hermione and Neville was taking Harry and Draco's younger Sister Molly with him. Harry wasn't sure how he felt about Neville taking his Sister out but decided that Neville was trustworthy.

That morning when Harry and the others entered the Great Hall for breakfast they found special Christmas Day editions of the Daily Prophet on all the House tables and most people seemed engrossed in them.

When Harry saw the front cover clearly he understood why "Crouch Jr sent through veil" the headline blared out.

Harry sat at the table and read.

It turned out that after a short trial Barty Crouch Jr had been convicted of several crimes, sentenced to the Dementors Kiss last night and which he'd received this morning and then been pushed through the veil to make sure that he was gone for all time.

While Harry felt no jubilation at the mans death he did feel very relieved that it was now all over.

Voldemort couldn't get to him this year with his spy at Hogwarts gone and his plans foiled.

Later that morning Harry, Draco and Molly were taken home by James and Sirius to Marauder Manor while Ron, Neville and Hermione were also taken home.

There followed a perfect morning and early afternoon of opening presents, singing Christmas carols including Harry's favourite of the First Noel and then a wonderful Christmas lunch.

All too soon they hugged their Parents and were taken back to Hogwarts by Remus and Peter who wished them one final Happy Christmas before disapparating.

That evening at around seven fifty pm Harry, Ron, Draco and Neville could be found waiting impatiently for their dates at the foot of the stairs in the Entrance Hall.

They had said goodbye to their girlfriends at five pm and all four of them had got ready in about ten minutes.

"I'm so much happier since Fred and George bought me this tuxedo" Ron remarked.

Harry agreed with a grin "I wouldn't want to have worn those robes your Mum gave you" they laughed at that.

Draco glanced at his watch "there's only eight minutes to the ball, where are they?" he said irritably.

"Probably still getting ready" Ron groaned.

They needn't have worried however as someone prodded Harry's arm. He turned to find Seamus standing next to his date and pointing to the top of the staircase.

Harry followed the Irish boys gaze and looked on in amazement.

He saw four girls descending the stairs towards them though he only really had eyes for one of them. Ginny.

She was wearing a strapless blue dress decorated with orange sequins. On her hands she had white gloves and she was wearing white slip on shoes.

Her bright red hair flowed out behind her as she walked, as if the sun itself were following her in adoration.

When his girlfriend reached him he found he was too choked up to speak, so mesmerised was he at her appearance.

When she asked him "how do I look love?" all he could say in response was "lovely" in a very hoarse voice.

Ginny chuckled "I see my outfit had the desired effect" she said as Harry took her hand and led her over to where the other Champions were standing. At her comment he could only nod.

He noticed that Cedric was taking his Ravenclaw girlfriend Cho Chang whom Harry had played against at Quidditch.

Victor Krum was taking their fellow Gryffindor Parvati Patil who seemed starstruck at being with him and was letting him do much of the talking.

Fleur Delacour was standing next to a Ravenclaw student Harry knew by sight called Roger Davies.

He rolled his eyes as he saw the Ravenclaw gazing at his date in adoration "he's only known her five minutes" he remarked.

Ginny giggled.

The doors of the Great Hall opened. Professor McGonagall strode out and up to the Champions "Champions please follow me to open the dance" she said in her usual stern voice, though Harry could tell that she was happy by the slight upturn of the corners of her mouth.

The ball that followed was the most fun Harry had had in months.

He and Ginny danced and danced.

The food was excellent as he had expected it would be. The drinks were wonderful and when they were not dancing he and Ginny were sitting at their table chatting and joking and laughing, having a wonderful time.

He could see that Ron and Hermione, Draco and Luna and Neville and Molly were also enjoying themselves thoroughly and as he and Ginny joined everyone on the dance floor for the next song by the Weird Sisters he wished that life could be this fun all the time.

* * *

Authors Note: The next chapter in this story will feature a time jump to February.


	35. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything in the Potter Universe. I make no money from this.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Five: The Second Task & Valentines Day

Christmas had come and gone as had the month of January.

February had dawned cold and dreary despite the cheerful atmosphere inside the castle.

The past month had been a happy one.

On the second of January Harry, Molly and Draco had left Hogwarts for the day to attend their brother Davids seventh birthday party which was thankfully being held the day before term restarted.

They'd flooed in to Marauder Manor from Dumbledore's Office.

When they arrived they were greeted by Lucy, Janice and Celia who greeted them with hugs and kisses.

"Where is everyone else?" Harry asked them as they entered the kitchen to have some breakfast.

As Harry made himself some crumpets with marmite, Celia answered "your Dad and Sirius had to go into work early there was a sighting of Mundungus Fletcher, Remus and Peter had to sort of few things with some book suppliers and the twins are upstairs being looked after by Dobby".

Harry's blood ran cold as he heard this news. Mundungus Fletcher. It was the one name aside from Voldemort that chilled him to the core of his very being.

Molly changed the subject for which Harry was grateful "so where's the birthday boy?" she asked.

Janice smiled "you know David, he's just like Harry and Draco were at his age, obsessed with Quidditch. He's down at the Quidditch pitch now trying to catch the snitch".

Harry and Draco both grinned "we'll go down and keep him company while you finish the preparations".

"I'll come with you" Molly declared and the three of them left their Parents and Aunt standing in the kitchen.

When they reached the Quidditch pitch they could hear the sounds of joyful yelling and as they looked up could see their brother zooming around the sky chasing after the small golden ball.

They stood there watching him for twenty minutes as he managed to repeatedly capture the snitch.

To Harry's amazement their brothers reflexes and skills were even better than his had been at such an age and David was able to catch the snitch quickly each time he tried.

Eventually David spotted them watching him and descended to the ground.

As he landed and stood the broom up against the Quidditch shed he was grinning like a Cheshire cat "Harry, Draco, Molly!" he said sounding overjoyed at their being here.

He hugged each one of them in turn "I had no idea you three would be here today!" he said with a smile as they sat down "would we miss the birthday of our favourite younger brother?" Draco said.

"I'm your only younger brother!" David exclaimed in amusement.

"So you are" remarked Harry and they all laughed.

The four of them then spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon playing games of two a side Quidditch and broomstick tag until they felt hungry and went indoors for lunch.

For the next two hours they played games of hide and seek and played on their joint games consoles until a head poked round the bedroom door of their sitting room and said "ah here's the birthday boy".

"Dad!" David exclaimed happily as he leapt to his feet and raced over to Sirius who gathered him in a bone crushing hug "happy birthday Davy" he said, grinning.

"Where are Uncle James, Uncle Peter and Uncle Remus?" he asked.

"They're downstairs stacking up your presents" Sirius replied with a laugh.

He, Harry, Draco, Molly and David headed downstairs to find the Manor ballroom decked out in many varying decorations from footballs to snitches.

"Wow!" David said in wonderment as he eyed the pile of presents, the decorations and the table groaning under a vast amount of food and drink.

What followed that afternoon and evening was a very enjoyable party as Davids friends arrived with their Parents and the Weasleys turned up along with Frank and Alice Longbottom.

During the party Harry had the chance to catch up with Percy who had graduated from Hogwarts in June the previous year "so Perce how are things?" he asked the man with a smile.

Percy grinned "your Dad and Godfather are perfect teachers Harry" he said "I've learned so much from them they're saying I might be able to sit my Auror exam next year sometime".

"That's awesome Percy I'm really happy for you" Harry replied.

Percy looked round "look Harry, I probably shouldn't say anything but...be careful round Asimov and Krum alright" the Auror trainee told him.

Harry frowned "why what's up with them?".

Percy sighed "The Dark Arts are on the curriculum at Durmstrang and everyone in the Auror Squads says that Asimov is a dark wizard".

Harry went to speak but Percy continued "now we don't know for sure but he may have been a Deatheater and its possible he passed his knowledge on to Krum".

Harry paled "just be careful ok? you're like a little brother to me and I don't want you getting hurt in this tournament".

Harry felt very touched by the sentiment especially given that Percy never usually spoke like this, much preferring to laugh and joke.

"Thanks for the warning" Harry said gratefully "I promise I'll be careful" he then added "my Mum would kill me if something happened to me through carelessness".

They had a laugh about that but when Harry, Draco and Molly returned to Hogwarts that night he was still turning the conversation over in his mind.

As he'd got ready for bed that night he'd made the decision that he would be wary around Asimov and Krum from now on just in case. After all, it didn't hurt to be careful given everything that had happened to him in the past three and a half years.

Harry's mind turned back to the present where he was waiting outside Professor Moody's classroom for the latest DADA lesson.

The door to the classroom presently opened and said Professor stood looking serious ever in the doorway "come in come" he said in gruff voice.

The students raced on and chose seats with there being a scuffle for the front seats as Moody's classes were now many students favourite as a result of his unusual and interesting lessons.

Once all the students were seated and the register of names taken Moody wrote on the chalkboard "ok class, today we are going to be learning about Dementors".

Harry shivered as his mind briefly went back to the several run ins he's had with the dark creatures the previous year the last of which had nearly resulted in himself and several others losing their souls.

"Who here can tell me how Dementors attack their victim?" Moody asked scanning the classroom.

Several students had their hands raised in the air but Hermione's was, unsurprisingly, the highest of the lot "yes Miss Granger" Moody said.

"Please sir, Dementors use their mouth or whatever it is that passes for a mouth to suck out a persons soul from their body".

"Very good Miss Granger take five points for Gryffindor". Harry and the other Gryffindor's congratulated her.

Moody wrote up Hermione's answer and then asked "and what happens when a Dementor gets near a person?".

To the surprise of many, including himself, Harry's hand shot into the air and he felt Moody's eyes on him "yes Mr Potter".

"It can affect people in various ways but the most common" Harry swallowed "the most common is for the person to relive their worst memory and to have a feeling of absolute hopelessness".

"That is spot on Mr Potter, take another five points for Gryffindor" Moody chalked it up and surveyed the class "Dementors are among the foulest and might even be the foulest creatures on this earth" he said darkly "Dementors make no distinction between the innocent or the guilty, they don't know love or compassion, they are emotionless beings that feed off the people they target. For the rest of this class we are going to work on some ways of holding Dementors off".

And so for the rest of that lesson they spent the time learning and practising various spells that would be useful if one came up against said dark beings.

When the bell rang for the end of class Harry hung back telling the others "I'll see you in the Great Hall" they left and soon it was just himself and Moody.

"So Harry how am I doing?" the gruff ex Auror asked.

Harry smiled and sat on the edge of a desk "you are definitely one of the best we've had teaching us".

Moody snorted "not much competition considering you were taught for a whole year by a man hiding Voldemort on his head, a fake and liar and an actual Deatheater disguised as me".

"Even so" Harry replied "you are doing a fantastic job, we couldn't have asked for a more worth successor to Moony than you".

"Speaking of which how is old hairy?" Moody said with what passed for a grin.

"He's doing good. I spoke to him last night and he said he'd be here for the Second Task".

Moody nodded "ah yes, the Second Task, I know I'm not supposed to help but I did point your friend Neville at a plant in one of his books that could help you".

Harry grinned "thanks Professor I really appreciate it".

"Any time Harry" Moody turned serious "you know...I don't say it often or...ever really but I'm proud of you Harry, you're a good kid and I'm proud of you for trying in this tournament despite not wanting to be involved".

Harry shrugged "wouldn't be much point in just giving up would there?".

Moody laughed. Actually laughed!. The sound was rough and loud as if he was unused to it "very true, very true. Lets go to lunch".

The two of them left the classroom walking and talking on various subjects including the Quidditch league (Moody supported the Chudley Cannons).

When Harry reached the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table he could tell there was something very wrong and he sighed.

Only one thing could have changed the atmosphere this fast "it's another article by Rita Skeeter...isn't it".

Everyone else tried to pretend otherwise to spare him but Harry was used to her articles by now.

The horrid woman had been writing all sorts of nonsense about him ever since he'd refused to give her an interview back in November "when will she give up?" he asked rhetorically as he opened the paper and read "Harry Potter cheating on Ginny Weasley?".

He read the article and couldn't believe anyone could write such drivel.

The article in question claimed declared that Harry had been seen holding hands with Hermione and had kissed her and taken her on dates and speculated that he about to break up with Ginny.

"Can't that horrible woman write about someone else?" Hermione said furiously and then added "I wish I knew how she did it".

"Did what?" Ron asked through a mouthful of bread.

"How she gets her information. After all, Harry did hold my hand the other week so she is adding minor facts in with the lies, but I don't know how she'd do it without being seen".

"Never mind, we've got our prank to plan for Valentines Day" Harry said with a smirk.

Everyone else was grinning.

"I suggest we meet in the Room of Requirement after classes today" he suggested.

The others all agreed and so it was decided.

Early that evening, not too long after classes ended, the New Marauders were gathered in one of their favourite rooms at Hogwarts.

As they stretched themselves out on comfortable chairs and sofas they began to throw round ideas for a prank.

"It has to be funny but not harmful" Harry told them all "people are meant to laugh and enjoy it".

Various ideas were rejected until Ginny shouted "I've got it!".

Everyone looked at her "we change some people into hearts, others into dwarfs who go around shouting messages of love at people".

"Brilliant!" said Harry. He joined by the others who declared it was a great idea.

Over the next few weeks the group got everything prepared and when Valentine's Day rolled round on the 14th of February all they had to do was cast their new charm on the food and wait for the hilarity to ensue.

Harry meanwhile was busy with his own thing that morning as he waited nervous for Ginny with the gift he had bought for her.

He knew she liked jewellery so he hoped this would like it.

He had had it specially made in Hogsmeade on a visit he had made with Ron, Draco, Hermione and Neville.

Draco who was heading off to meet Luna smiled at his brother and patted him on the shoulder "no need to be so nervous brother mine, she'll love it I'm sure".

Harry looked at his brother doubtfully. Of the two Draco was generally more confident around girls while Harry especially now he was in a relationship always felt nervous he'd do or say the wrong thing.

He caught sight of Ginny and saw her coming down the stairs dressed casually as was he, though he had agonised over the decision.

"Morning love" Ginny said as she kissed him on the lips.

Harry returned the kiss and replied "morning love".

Harry noticed one hand was in her pocket. He said nothing about it as they'd agreed not to exchange gifts until they were by their favourite tree next to the Black Lake.

Harry took her hand, kissed it and they headed out through the portrait hole past the picture of the Fat Lady who said "aw, young love".

When the two of them reached the Black Lake they sat down. Harry pulled out the gift he had for her.

Ginny unwrapped the tissue paper, opened the case in which it came and gazed down at the object inside.

She did so for so long in fact, that Harry began to get quite nervous.

She took it out and twirled it round.

It was a gold locket in the shape of a heart suspended on a chain.

Harry wasn't sure if it was too corny or not.

Ginny opened it and Harry saw a picture of himself as he was now, waving and smiling while Ginny blew a kiss.

Ginny closed the locket and Harry felt her arms throw themselves around him "oh Harry this is beautiful" she told him emotionally through thick tears "I love it".

Harry was amazed. So amazed in fact that all he did in response was grin and say "good".

He helped her put it on and then Ginny handed him his gift which was a pair of bright orange gloves made from thick wool, ideal for the kind of blustery, cold and snowy weather they were having "they're brilliant Gin Gin" he said happily "I'm always losing my gloves!".

He pulled them on enthusiastically and flexed his fingers.

His hands and fingers had been getting cold previously but now with the gloves on they were warming up nicely "so warm as well" he said.

"I put a permanent warming charm on them" she said a bit shyly. Harry kissed her "they're perfect love. I couldn't wish for a better gift".

After that the two of them spent an enjoyable day hanging out by the lake and going round Hogsmeade including having some lunch in the Three Broomsticks pub.

Eventually the Valentine's Day feast arrived and Harry and his friends were sat waiting eagerly at their table as Dumbledore rattled through his speech quickly, seeming to be just as excited as the students to sample the treats in store for them.

"Let the feast begin" Dumbledore proclaimed with a twinkle in his eye.

Everyone began to eat and Harry and the other New Marauders aimed their wands at the various House tables.

Their spell had been designed to have a wide area affect encompassing whole tables and soon people began to change throughout the hall as a quart of the students became hearts and another quarter became dwarfs who started going round the tables quoting horrible poetry and singing terrible songs to the remaining students many of whom simply wanted to escape the madness.

Harry noted to his amusement that Nott had been trapped by one "dwarf" and was having the worst poetry he'd ever heard quoted at him.

Harry and his friends were beside themselves and their howls of laughter at the sight before them was matched only by the laughter coming from Professors Hagrid, Snape, Sprout and Flitwick who were laughing hysterically.

Harry and Draco's Uncle Sev was laughing so hard he nearly fell from his seat.

After twenty minutes of absolute chaos the students began to return to normal.

Many cast embarrassed looks about at their fellow students while others looked at their neighbour nervously.

A banner, hidden before the feast, fluttered down and proclaimed "Happy Valentine's Day from the New Marauders".

Quite a number of students were applauding or laughing. Others were scowling or looked disapproving.

A glance at the Staff table told him that Moody had found the prank as amusing as he had.

* * *

The next eight days went by swiftly and fun for Harry as the group played more small pranks on people and concentrated on their studies.

The 23rd of November arrived cold and windy.

Harry's run that morning alongside the others was not pleasant due to the weather and Harry was glad to be back indoors for a shower and breakfast.

Thankfully the day improved after that as Harry and co found themselves out in the grounds for another Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

Unfortunately for all of the students, Hagrid still had them caring for the Blast-Ended Skrewts though it was beyond Harry as to why they were bothering in the first place as Skrewts served no useful purpose at all.

By now most of the volatile creatures had died mostly due to eating each other.

"Alrigh' Harry?" Hagrid asked during a quiet moment.

"Bit nervous actually Hagrid" Harry confided in his large friend.

Hagrid smiled "ye'll be fine Arry you've got loads of people to help you get ready".

Harry grinned "thanks Hagrid". The large wizard clapped him on the shoulder and moved off to check on the other students.

Harry smiled as Hagrid told Nott off for slacking.

Harry spent much of his free time that day with his friends trying to relax.

When he entered the Great Hall that night he looked around the Gryffindor table for his girlfriend Ginny who he found was not at dinner.

After half an hour he decided to ask Fred and George "oi Fred, George!".

"Yes Harry..."

"What is it..."

"That you..."

"Want?" they said.

"Have you seen Ginny today?" he asked them feeling very concerned.

"We saw her at lunch but not since" Fred said.

"I'm sure she's fine Harry. Probably just not hungry. I expect she's in the common room" George said.

Harry nodded but did not feel reassured at these words.

After an hour Harry left the Gryffindor table followed closely by Draco, Luna, Hermione, Ron and Neville.

When they reached the common room Harry looked around desperately for her but could find no sign of her.

Questioning from her dorm mates and other Gryffindor's found that no one had seen her "right, Luna, Hermione, you two check the girls dorms we'll take the boys" he said almost frantically.

Without waiting for a response from anyone he tore up the stairs and began to search the first dorm room he came to.

Needless to say they found no trace of Ginny anywhere within Gryffindor Tower so they moved on to searching the entire castle.

Harry finally settled on going to Professor Dumbledore for help.

Tearfully, he explained why he was so frantic.

The Professor put him straight "Miss Weasley has not been attacked or kidnapped you can rest assured on that score my boy" he said calmly.

"How can I be assured?" Harry said feeling angry "my girlfriend has disappeared and you sit there as if nothing is wrong!".

"Harry my boy calm down" Dumbledore said sternly as he gazed at Harry over his half moon spectacles "I give you my word as Headmaster of this school that Ginny is quite safe and you need have no worry".

Despite Dumbledore's words Harry spent much of the night worrying about Ginny even after all of the other boys in the dorm had fallen asleep and the sound of loud snoring filled the room "where are you love?" he whispered as he gazed out of the window.

He slept only fitfully that night and woke up in the morning feeling absolutely terrible.

For once he forwent his usual morning run and at breakfast that morning he had no appetite.

His friends made sure he ate a slice of toast and had some water but other than that he merely sat and brooded.

Dumbledore had given his word and yet Ginny was still missing!. Damn him!.

* * *

At nine o clock Harry backed up by an entourage including all of the New Marauders (except Ginny), his sister Molly, Fred and George and their friend Lee Jordan, made his way down to the pier where boats moored up.

By nine twenty five all of the Champions plus their supporters were assembled and ready for the task to begin.

Ludo Bagman went through the rules of the task "you have one hour in the lake to get what was taken from you and to return. Good luck". He beamed at the Champions and threw a thumbs up Harry.

Harry shook his head. He had been told that the reason Bagman wanted to help was due to the vast amount of money he had bet on Harry winning in order to be able to repay the Goblins were blood thirsty for their gold and Fred and George with whom the inveterate gambler had made a bet at the World Cup the previous summer.

"Are you sure this will work Nev?" Harry questioned doubtfully as he gazed at the plant in his hand. It looked like ordinary seaweed with a grey green texture and very slimy feel.

"Course it will, have faith" Neville replied with a smile. He clapped Harry on the back.

Harry sighed "well...nothing ventured nothing gained" he said resignedly and crammed the plant into his mouth.

In seconds he felt an odd sensation in his mouth and throat.

He saw his fingers and toes start to web and could feel holes appearing on his neck "gills" Neville told him at his silent questioning look.

Within a short time the Gillyweed had taken full effect and he sprang into the ice cold water of the Black Lake.

As Harry began to swim through the dark murky water he looked round for whatever it was he needed to rescue.

He swam for what seemed an eternity passing by a number of Merpeople, many of whom were holding tridents.

Some looked fierce while others smiled at him.

Eventually he reached a clearing between rock and weeds. His breath caught in his throat as he saw one of his worst nightmares come to life.

He'd been worried to death since last night that something had happened to Ginny and right now he was staring at his girlfriend who, as he swam closer, he could see was unconscious or asleep, he had no idea which and was also rooted in place by chain that ran from a rock up to her leg and clamped round it.

If he could have spoken at that moment it would have been to utter an obscenity. Instead he settled for thinking it 'Dumbledore you bastard'.

'What is it? what's happened?' came his brothers urgent call through their mental link.

'It's Ginny' Harry told Draco 'she's what I'd miss most. They must have drugged her last night and stuck her down here' Harry said emotionally over the link.

'That's...I...I can't believe it!' Draco said over the link in utter disbelief.

'I'll be having words with Dumbledore you can be sure of that' Harry said over the link in a steely voice.

Harry pointed his wand at the chain binding Ginny to the rock and mumbled "Diffindo" the chain snapped and his girlfriend began to float upwards.

Harry swam to her and held her steady.

He gazed round and saw that the other three people, Cho Chang, the little girl who looked like Fleur and Parvati Patil were all still asleep and chained.

He was about to act when someone who looked like a shark cut through the water.

Harry pulled Ginny out of the way just in time as the thing swam past making for Parvati.

Harry realised that with the persons bulk it had to be Victor Krum and he watched as the Bulgarian severed the chain and began pulling her upwards.

Time ticked on further and Cedric appeared to rescue his girlfriend Cho. Without acknowledging Harry he cut the chain and pulled Cho towards the surface of the lake.

Harry floated in place for many agonising moments attempting to decide what to do.

He checked his waterproof watch which told him it was 10:27 am.

It was clear that Fleur wasn't coming.

'I have to do something' Harry decided at that point.

He pulled Ginny with him over to the sleeping girl, pointed his wand and was about to cut her loose when a group of Merpeople surrounded him.

They looked angry and many were holding their tridents out threateningly challenging him "only one!" one of their said sharply.

"But..." Harry mumbled.

"No, one only as the task states!".

Harry was in a bind. By taking the girl from the water he would end up over his time and may end up being disqualified for breaking the rules of the task.

'But can I really leave her here like this?' he asked himself searchingly.

He thought back to what Dumbledore had said last night about Ginny "I promise you she is safe".

'You lied about that' Harry thought 'and if you lied about that how can I think this girl is safe. Especially given everything that's happened to me at Hogwarts'.

Harry made a decision in that moment.

He knew it was very probably foolish. Knew that it could cost him the tournament and prize money but in that moment Harry found that he just didn't care.

It wasn't like he needed the money after all. He had enough fame as it was without adding to it and in any case a girls life was at stake.

Nothing was worth risking the life of an innocent.

Harry brandished his wand at the Merpeople "stay back!" he warned "I'm taking her as well".

"NO!" one them shouted.

"Stay back" Harry yelled.

The Merpeople looked angry but worried.

He knew that Merpeople did not have magic in the way that humans did and thus could not stop him if he was resolute enough.

Taking his wand temporarily away from the Merpeople he aimed it at the chain keeping the little girl in place and murmured "Diffindo".

The chain snapped and the girl began float as Ginny had. Without wasting any more time Harry began to swim towards the surface of the lake.

Finally, he broke the surface of the water and the little girl and Ginny both woke up looking round wildly.

"H...Harry?" Ginny mumbled croakily "what's going on?".

Harry felt the Gillyweed wear off "I'll explain later love" he said hoarsely and swam to the pier.

The people there helped the little girl up and then hauled Harry and Ginny up on to dry land.

Various people crowded round him.

Harry saw Victor Krum using a drying charm on himself and on Parvati who beamed at him gratefully.

He saw Cedric hugging Cho.

He saw the little girl who he'd rescued being hugged and then dried off by a tearful Fleur who had evidently dried herself off already.

Harry wondered what had happened to her and hoped she was alright.

As a towel was handed to him Harry dried himself off and then grabbed Ginny into an almost bone crushing embrace "I had no idea where you were until just now!" he said as tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"When I saw you floating there, fast asleep I...I..." Harry broke off feeling choked up "I went to see Dumbledore last night after we'd looked everywhere for you and he said you were safe" he said angrily "he said there was no need to worry. I'll be having words with him".

He kissed Ginny and then asked "what happened?".

Ginny shrugged "I don't really know. I was told yesterday afternoon after class finished to report to Professor McGonagall, I did and she took me to Professor Dumbledore".

Harry's eyes widened as what he had suspected was confirmed "he knew!".

Harry was furious "he bloody knew and didn't tell me!".

Harry felt like grabbing the old wizard and shoving him in the lake to see how he felt about being stuck underwater.

"Harry you idiot!" Neville said as he walked over to him.

Harry looked at his friend in puzzlement at the insult and then at Hermione standing next to him "what?" he asked in confusion.

"Harry you didn't believe all that guff about the what was taken being lost forever did you?" Neville said disbelievingly.

"I...I...well yeah...I did" Harry admitted suddenly feeling stupid.

Hermione shook her head "oh Harry" she said sympathetically "it was a metaphor" he looked at her blankly.

"It was simply to make sure you finished the task within the time limit" Neville said.

Harry felt like a total idiot, a feeling made worse with Draco, Luna, Ron, Fred, George, Lee and Molly all sniggering at him.

"Oh crap" Harry muttered blinking away the water on his glasses.

Harry stood up and without warning was grasped in very warm, tight hug "wha..." he uttered in surprise.

"Oh thank you so much!" a female voice cried.

He detected a French accent "Gabrielle told me ow you saved er!" she exclaimed in gratitude "I am so grateful for what you've done for my sister!".

Harry found himself being kissed numerous times "it was no problem" he said feeling his face flush in embarrassment.

After a time Fleur released him and he found himself being hugged by her sister "thank you for saving me" she said shyly.

"It was nothing. I'm glad you're alright" he said to her.

When they had walked away Harry heard Ginny's voice "so what's going on with you and that Fleur then?" she sounded angry.

Harry gulped "oh...I...um...it's nothing. It's just because I saved her sister" he gabbled feeling worried.

He then saw the smirk on his girlfriends face "you knew nothing happened didn't you" he said.

She grinned "yep".

"You...you..." Harry couldn't think of a word so he simply grabbed her in a hug "I love you you cheeky girl" he said with a laugh.

"They're announcing the scores!" Ron said in excitement.

Sighing, Harry turned his attention to the judges who were all sat behind a wooden table above the pier.

The judges seemed to have just finished conferring.

Ludo Bagman commentator and judge stood up "ladies and gentlemen, the judges have conferred and have decided to award from last to first Miss Fleur Delacour 25 points as she was attacked by a creature in the lake and was unable to finish the task".

"I deserve nothing!" Fleur exclaimed.

"In third place for the task is Mr Krum who we award 40 points as he successfully finished the task but finished outside the time and used an incomplete transformation".

Krum seemed to accept it but Asimov who had awarded his student full points did not look happy at all.

"Despite finishing well outside of the time, due to his saving two people and after information from Merchieftaness Murcus we have decided to order Mr Harry Potter 45 points for this task" Bagman gave a sharp look to Asimov that told Harry that he had only given Harry a small amount of points.

"And finally in first place for the task is Mr Cedric Diggory who showed excellent use of a bubblehead charm and rescued his hostage and is thus awarded 47 points".

Again, Harry was sure Asimov had been the one to short change one of the Champions and shook his head at the blatant favouritism.

"Thus the scores after the Second Task of this Triwizard Tournament are as follows" Bagman declared reading from a sheet of parchment "currently in first place with 95 points is Mr Harry Potter" the Gryffindor's and a number of others cheered loudly at this fact and Ginny gave his hand a squeeze.

"In second place with 92 points is Mr Cedric Diggory" the Hufflepuff's burst in cheers and applause with many clapping Cedric on the back and Cho kissing him.

"In third place with 74 points is Mr Victor Krum" the Durmstrang contingent applauded while Asimov looked annoyed with Krum.

"And in last place with 60 points is Miss Fleur Delacour" the Beauxbatons students applauded politely as did Madame Maxime but Harry could see Fleur was upset at being unable to finish the task and being in last place. He felt sorry for her.

"The last task is to take place on the twenty fourth of June" Bagman told the Champions "you will be appraised of what the objective is and where it will take place in mid May".

Bagman beamed at Harry for being in first. Harry rolled his eyes and just hoped the man would pay Fred and George what he owed.

* * *

Authors Note: I chose to end it where I did because I didn't feel there was anything more to write and I think the chapter finishes quite nicely.

A friendly reminder to everyone who is reading this to please review as it encourages quicker updates and helps me know how I'm doing. Thanks.


	36. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: The characters in the Potter Universe belong to JK Rowling. I make no money from this.

* * *

Authors Note: This is the last chapter of Fourth Year & features a time jump to May.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Six: More Plots, Nightmare & The Third Task

Life had been mostly enjoyable for Harry and the other New Marauders at Hogwarts since the Second Task.

Their time had been consumed by lessons, homework and learning more spells for the Third Task.

They also went into Hogsmeade village several times on Hogsmeade visits.

It was now the middle of May. Lessons had finished for the day and Harry, Draco and the rest of the New Marauders were eating dinner in the Great Hall and chatting away happily "the Wimbourne Wasps are top of the league again this year" Harry said grinning as he read the evening edition of the Daily Prophet.

"The Holyhead Harpies are close behind" Ginny pointed out with a smirk, "it's going to be close this year".

"It's only because they've got more galleons than the other teams" Ron snorted.

Everyone else laughed at this "oh come Ron" Draco said "the Chudley Cannons are awful and you know it. What was the score of the last match?".

Ron turned red "that's...that doesn't matter!" he protested.

"two hundred and twenty points to ten wasn't it?" Luna added with a grin.

"They had some bad luck...bad weather...injuries" Ron said trying to defend his team.

Everyone laughed at this "that's the same response you use every season Ron" Harry said in amusement.

As they were chattering away none of them noticed the person approaching the Gryffindor table "Mr Potter".

Harry turned round "oh hello Professor McGonagall, is it time?" he asked her.

The Professor nodded still with the usual stern look on her wrinkled face "follow me Mr Potter" she said.

Harry stood up from the table, called out "see you later" to his brother, girlfriend and friends and followed Professor McGonagall who was already heading for the open doors.

He caught up with her in the Entrance Hall and asked "where are we heading Professor?".

"Just follow me Mr Potter" she answered.

Inwardly, Harry shrugged. It didn't really matter where they were heading.

They walked to the doors of the Entrance Hall which swung open for them and headed to the left walking across the grounds.

After walking for awhile Harry realised that they were heading in the same direction of the Quidditch stadium and wondered what task could possibly take place in such a stadium.

'Perhaps we have to catch as many snitches as possible' he thought before shifting the thought aside as stupid.

They reached the stadium, walked through the door into one of the changing rooms and straight out onto the pitch...or rather as near as they could get to the pitch.

Harry stared at the sight before him in incomprehension "what have they done to the pitch?!" he exclaimed loudly.

He was in shock. 'How could anyone desecrate our hallowed Quidditch pitch like this?' he thought in outrage.

"I know what you're thinking Harry" Professor McGonagall said quietly.

Harry stared at her "you have no need to worry" she assured him "the hedges will be removed at the end of the school year and the pitch will go back to normal".

Harry nodded accepting this explanation.

The two of them walked over to a small group of people clustered together near the seating area.

Harry noted that his three fellow Champions Victor Krum, Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour were standing there eyeing the beginnings of the hedge probably wondering the same as he himself had been.

Also present were Madame Maxime, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Asimov, Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge.

"Ah Harry" Dumbledore said greeting him with a twinkle in his blue eyes.

Harry fixed his gaze upon Dumbledore. In time between the end of the Second Task and now the Headmaster had apologised to Harry for what had happened with Ginny, an apology accepted by Harry who did not like to be on bad terms with the old wizard.

"Hello Professor" he said with a smile.

Cedric greeted him cordially as did Victor Krum.

Fleur surprised him and everyone else as she greeted him with a hug and said "hello Harry".

Harry smiled and replied "hi Fleur, your English is getting better".

The French girl nodded and replied "I'm planning to get a summer job here in England to further improve it, Gringotts Bank have offered me a position".

Harry was really happy for her. He'd grown to like her in the past few months since the Second Task. He'd become a friend to her "that's great news Fleur" he said happily and then added with a grin "and I know a certain red haired wizard who will be happy to hear it".

Fleur blushed.

Ludo Bagman cleared his throat "uh..ahem. Yes...well...um, so the final task of the Triwizard Tournament is to take place on the 24th of June so you have over a month to get ready".

Bagman walked towards the beginnings of the hedge and announced "this hedge was planted by the Hogwarts Gamekeeper Hagrid who with the help of the other Professors will grown this maze over the next month until it is as tall as a giant".

Harry stared at the hedge in disbelief.

"The objective of the task will be for you navigate the maze and deal with the creatures and traps therein that bar your way with the ultimate goal of reaching and claiming the Triwizard Cup".

He gestured at a hole in the hedge "this is one of the four points at which the Champions will enter. Mr Potter shall enter first with Mr Diggory a minute behind, Mr Krum one minute after him and Miss Delacour shall enter one minute after Mr Krum" Bagman explained to them "alright so far?" he asked.

The four Champions nodded and he finished off the details "if any of you get in trouble inside the maze you may send up red sparks from your wand for assistance but I must warn you that if you do so and receive assistance you will then be out of the task".

The Champions all nodded when he asked if they understood and he then finished his explanation with a warning "be careful for there will be several dangerous and dark creatures within the maze. There will also be Professors patrolling the outside ready to help if needed".

With all of the explanations finished Harry made to walk back up to castle only for Ludo Bagman to waylay him.

He sighed as he knew instantly what the rather rotund man wished to speak about "so Harry ready for the Third Task?".

"Uh not really Mr Bagman" he replied politely "but I will be".

"Oh...good, good" Bagman said "make sure you get that trophy for me...ah...I mean...uh...for Hogwarts of course". With that the man hurried off to who knew where and Harry thought 'why on earth is he involved in this tournament?'.

When Harry returned to his common room that night he found the New Marauders, Fred and George and his sister Molly waiting for him to hear everything.

He sat down and explained everything he'd been told about the Third Task including about dark creatures.

When he was finished Fred and George burst out in sync "they can't do this!".

Harry nodded feeling as angry about the desecration of the pitch as they were "it'll ruin the pitch!" Ron exclaimed in agreement.

"Oh it's only a game!" Hermione said in exasperation causing all of the others to stare at her as if she had grown two heads "only...a game?" Harry said in disbelief.

Hermione shrugged "well it is".

"It's more than a game Hermione!" Ron said fiercely "it's a matter of life and death!".

"Oh it is not!" Hermione said irritably.

They would have gone off on a long and pointless argument had Harry not dragged the pair back to reality "never mind arguing over Quidditch we can do that any time, I need help from all of you to prepare for the task".

Hermione's eyes lit up as did Draco's "we can help by researching what creatures might appear in the maze" she said brightly as Draco nodded.

"And we'll help with practising spells and learning new ones in preparation" Ron promised with Neville, Ginny and Luna voicing agreement.

* * *

That night when Harry went to bed feeling generally relaxed but also very thoughtful about the Third Task and what it would entail.

As he slipped into bed, took off his glasses and rest his head on his pillow he could hear the snores of his dorm mates filling the room.

He drifted off to sleep expecting a nice restful one.

He was sadly disappointed.

At first the nightmares were just ordinary ones such as being chased by Deatheaters but as the night progressed his nightmares changed and one ended up pushing it's way to prominence above the others.

Harry was walking in the sunlight of the Hogwarts grounds talking with someone.

He couldn't see who the person was as they had a hood up but his words to the person were friendly so it must be someone Harry knew.

They they were heading towards Hagrids cabin and Harry's large friend came out to greet them. Suddenly Hagrid began to shout "look out Harry!".

Harry frowned in confusion. He did felt a blow on the head but no pain.

The scene in the nightmare shifted. Harry looked around at a dismal graveyard located he knew not where.

He looked down and found that he was tied to a gravestone.

Ahead of him was a large copper cauldron.

Harry could hear footsteps from somewhere and all of a sudden a person came into view wearing black robes.

He saw the mans bald head and realised with horror that it was Mundungus Fletcher, the traitorous Deatheater that escaped them the previous year.

Fletcher approached the cauldron and as he drew closer Harry could see that he was carrying a bundle of cloth in his arms.

The cloth jostled slightly and Harry found himself fixated on it.

A man wearing a white mask came from between some gravestones and used a wand to light a fire under the cauldron.

Fletcher carefully tipped something into the cauldron. Something that looked like nothing he had ever seen.

The traitor then walked purposefully over to Harry who began struggling. It was no avail however as he was tied by magical ropes to the gravestone and was fixed in place.

He watched in terror as Fletcher reached him and smirking widely he brandished a knife. It was very shiny as if it had never been used before.

Fletcher seized Harry's wrist painfully and held it in place as he cut a slit in Harry's t-shirt sleeve. "No please!" Harry begged as the man moved the knife to the skin of his arm and sliced a line.

Blood began to drip from the bottom on his arm onto the knife until the tip was coated in blood "argh!" Harry cried out in pain, only to be backhanded by an angry looking Fletcher who hissed "silence, boy!".

Fletcher hurried back over to the cauldron and flicked the blood from the knife into said cauldron.

The other Deatheater levitated a bone from the yellowed grass into the cauldron.

Before finally Fletcher finished by standing by the cauldron and slicing off his hand into it.

As all of this was going on Harry was dimly aware through his pain that Fletcher was talking "bone of the father unwillingly given. Blood of the enemy forcibly taken. Flesh of the servant willingly given".

Harry had a bad feeling that he was witnessing some sort of dark ritual.

Everything began to click in his mind as he realised 'Fletcher's here, someone else is here wearing a Deatheater mask...oh no!...oh no!'.

Everything made sense.

The ritual could only be for on person. For someone who had lost their body. Someone who was Harry's enemy.

And he had only one true enemy.

He watched in concern as the cauldron began to fizz and to bubble.

After a time something began to rise from the cauldron.

Harry watched transfixed.

It had no hair anywhere, long fingers and slits for nostrils in place of a proper nose.

The things skin was very pale. As pale as marble and when the things eyes opened they were scarlet.

The thing stared at Harry as if he was trying to look into Harry's soul 'oh no!. Please no!' Harry repeated in his mind over and over.

"Robe me" the thing said in a cold, clear voice.

The unknown Deatheater stepped up to the thing Harry was now sure had to be Voldemort and placed the robe over his head and provided sandals for him also.

A wand was handed to Voldemort and he began to flex his fingers and feel all over his head and body.

His eyes came to rest on Harry "so the **great **Harry Potter, brought here when he least expected it" Voldemort said in amusement "I've been waiting so many long years for this moment". He smiled a thin cruel smile with his lip less mouth and shouted with much relish "Avada Kedavra!".

Harry awoke with a violent jolt, banging heads with someone and toppling out of his bed "ow Harry!" a voice in the dark said.

A light flickered on and the room was illuminated.

Harry found himself gazing up Neville, Ron, Draco, Dean and Seamus who were all staring at him in concern.

Harry felt his forehead. His scar was burning and he had sweat pouring from him.

"What was that all about Harry it sounded like a nightmare?" Draco asked sounding worried.

Harry sighed "I had a nightmare about Voldemort being resurrected in a graveyard. I was there and he...he..." Harry swallowed and shuddered.

"He what?" Ron asked sounding afraid.

Harry looked at his brother and friends and replied "he killed me".

Harry found himself unable to get back to sleep that night and ended up descending down to the common room to read as he tried to get the horrific images from the nightmare out of his head.

He hoped that the events of said nightmare would never come to pass.

* * *

One night in late May Harry heard that the Triwizard Cup had arrived at Hogwarts fresh from being made.

He took a look at it in it's place in the trophy room and marvelled over it.

It was solid gold with a marble base and had a gold name plate ready for the Champions name to be engraved on it.

Despite not having wanted to be in the tournament previously Harry felt that he did want it after all.

Not for the money or the glory but more for being able to say that he had done it. It would be an accomplishment all his own if he managed to win the tournament.

It wouldn't be some freak occurrence from when he'd been a baby or stopping the Philosopher's Stone from being stolen which had been a team effort.

Even winning the Quidditch Cup was team thing.

But this...to win the Triwizard Tournament would make him famous for something he truly deserved to be famous for.

'Yes' Harry decided then and there 'I will try everything to win this trophy'. He smiled as he thought of the two people he planned to give the prize money to if he did win.

He was about to leave when he heard footsteps.

Despite knowing that he was perfectly entitled to be here some instinct made him duck out sight of whoever the footsteps came from.

A tall, furtive looking man with short dark hair and a moustache entered the trophy room and cast a look round nervously for signs that someone may be watching.

Harry recognised the person as none other than Professor Asimov Headmaster of Durmstrang.

Asimov stared for a long time at the trophy case and Harry had the sneaking suspicion that the man may be planning to do more than simply stare at the trophy.

After a long time the Professor went away.

When Harry returned to the common room he ended up being distracted and forgot all about the incident, only being reminded of it when he overheard muttering from a cupboard as he was passing.

He froze in place as he recognised the muttering voice to be that of Professor Asimov "I should do it" he said "I would be rewarded for helping him...but what I get caught?...I won't...or will I?".

It seemed as if Asimov was trying to make an important decision and was weighing things up.

Harry heard the muttering stop and the handle on the door begin to turn.

He took off at a run and as he ran he definitely had the impression that Asimov was up to something big.

As if by fate Harry found himself in front of the stone gargoyles that protected Dumbledore's Seventh Floor office.

He had been told the password already and so, making a decision, he said "dairy milk" and found the gargoyles jumping aside.

On his way up on the spiral staircase he wondered just what he would say to the Headmaster.

Every time he thought of something in his head it sounded absurd.

'No Dumbledore will listen and act' Harry thought loyally.

Another thought crept in cynically 'you hope' the voice said.

He squashed the cynical voice down as he approached the large double doors to Dumbledore's Office which, unsurprisingly, creaked open to admit him and Harry knew that the old wizard had sensed his approach.

Even more unsurprisingly was the fact that Dumbledore was waiting for him in his seat behind his desk and looked intrigued at Harry's appearance which showed Harry that though the old wizard had known he was on his way up, the Headmaster did not know precisely why.

"Ah Harry. Please sit down, lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked holding up a dish containing his favourite Muggle sweet.

Harry laughed and took one though he did not eat it "how can I help you today Harry?" the wizard asked kindly.

Harry wasn't sure where to begin so he decided that it was best to start from the beginning going from Asimov's strange behaviour in front of the cup and his muttered argument with himself in the cupboard.

When he'd finished Dumbledore was stroking his beard thoughtfully "yes I see" he said finally "very suspicious indeed. The trophy room incident wouldn't be as suspicious were it not for his worrying about whether he should do something or not".

Dumbledore gazed it Harry's eyes "it is my firm belief Harry that Voldemort's followers are putting pressure on Asimov to get you to wherever Voldemort is residing".

"But what about the cup Professor? what does the cup have to do with it all?" Harry asked feeling confused.

"I have a theory Harry that I believe is correct" Dumbledore stood up and began to pace "it is my firm belief that Professor Asimov is checking out the trophy and trying to find a way of turning it into a portkey".

"Bloody hell!" Harry exclaimed before remembering who he was in the presence of "oh..sorry Professor" he said sheepishly.

"No need to apologise Harry" the Headmaster said with a twinkle in his eyes "I went momentarily deaf and heard nothing".

Harry grinned before his face fell and he said "so what do we do about him?".

"Simple my boy. We allow him to make the move and then we grab him" Dumbledore said "we catch him red handed as he attempts to change the cup and we ensure he can no longer teach".

Dumbledore and Harry with the help of other Professors thus put a plan into place.

Asimov was watch right up until the 1st of June when he made his move on the trophy.

Harry and various Professors watched from cover as Asimov removed the spells keeping the trophy protected, took it out and began his attempt to turn it into a portkey.

As he finished, the Professors ran from cover and surrounded him. Asimov dropped the cup in shock and seemed to hesitate for a few moments before doing something that none expected.

He aimed his wand at his chest and said "Avada Kedavra".

The green light instantly struck his chest and he was flung back to rest against the doorway of the trophy room, his eyes wide and sightless. He was dead.

There was immediate chaos of course as the Durmstrang students and staff were interrogated as to whether they knew Asimov had been a Deatheater and whether they'd been aware of his plans.

After extensive questioning it was found that Asimov alone had planned this.

Dumbledore's theory was that the wizard had cooked it up with Voldemort as a back up plan that had not been told to Barty Crouch Jr.

* * *

Time moved on and for the second time since being entered into the tournament Harry enjoyed one aspect of it. While his friends, girlfriend, brother and indeed most of the students, were running about like headless chickens revising and revising some more or panicking. He was one of the few in the castle not bothered about the approach of exams at the end of May and beginning of June as thanks to his status as a Triwizard Champion he did not have to complete end of year exams, something that he wouldn't miss at all except for being intrigued as to what Moody's end of year exam would entail.

He was so curious about it that he asked Ron after he'd completed it as Ron entered the common room and scowled at Harry reading a book on steam trains "that. was. mental" his best friend just about managed to breathe out before flopping unceremoniously onto the sofa next to him.

"What did Moody have you doing?" Harry asked curiously.

"We had to duel with him!" Ron exclaimed "us. Fourth Years!".

Harry laughed "Moody's very unorthodox but he's a good teacher. What did he say about how you did?".

"He was quite impressed actually" Ron replied scratching his head "said I would make a good Auror and had I thought about applying".

"And have you?" Harry asked seriously.

"What? thought about applying?".

Harry nodded "you would be a good choice" he said.

Ron thought about it "I'm interested for definite, I just don't know if I could stand all that paperwork" he said shuddering.

Harry laughed. His best friend had never liked doing paperwork and it was in fact one of the reasons why he only did his homework thanks to prompting by Harry, Draco, Hermione or others.

* * *

Finally the day arrived that Harry and, he imagined, the other Champions had been waiting for.

It was the 24th of June and the day of the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament and despite what Harry and the others had been through in the first two tasks having to face Dragons and recover people asleep underwater, he knew without even having to think about it that the task would be much harder than the previous tasks as he had spoken with his half-giant friend Hagrid while visiting him for tea one day.

Hagrid had tried to be evasive and keep to other subjects when Harry asked about what dangers Hagrid himself had placed in the maze but Harry did find out that an Acromantula would be moving about.

Harry shuddered a bit. He didn't have the fear of normal spiders as Ron did but he the thought of one so tall and menacing. Oh horrible!.

He also found out there would be a Boggart floating round trying to confuse the Champions.

Hagrid was annoyed with himself for revealing anything to Harry and refused to reveal anything more to Harry than he had, instead glaring at him.

That morning Harry went for his usual run and was joined by the rest of the New Marauders.

Some of them tried to claim they were merely keeping fit but Harry knew their looks better than anyone after spending so much time with them all over the years and knew that they were worried for him.

Truth be told he was rather worried about what he'd face in the maze himself.

But he did have one bright point and that was that with Asimov having been found to be changing the cup to a portkey it had been moved to Professor Dumbledore's Office and set to be guarded by a group of Aurors led by Neville's Dad Frank Longbottom.

After breakfast in the Great Hall and with there being no lessons to go to the New Marauders decided to spend the day until the Third Task relaxing by the Black Lake.

Harry knew his friends were trying to take his mind off the task and he felt very grateful for this as he sat against the tree trunk and Ginny laid her head in his lap.

As everyone talked he unconsciously stroked his girlfriends hair loving the softness of it.

"Has everyone made the choice of what to take next year?" Hermione asked the other Fourth Years.

Everyone nodded and Ron revealed something that surprised everyone except Neville who had done the same thing "Neville and I are dropping Divination and are going to take Muggle Studies" he announced to the surprise of everyone else.

Hermione was thrilled by the decision.

She'd been hoping he boyfriend would learn more about the Muggle world and she considered that for a wizard with not much experience of Muggles he'd learn a lot more in that subject than in the as Professor McGonagall called it "woolly headed" subject of Divination.

The group passed an enjoyable morning around the lake before heading indoors for lunch at one.

They spent the afternoon playing games of exploding snap and wizards chess as well as arguing about the ending of the Quidditch league season which had seen the Chudley Cannons (to no one's surprise but Ron's) finish bottom of the league, the Wimbourne Wasps prevail as Champions for the second year running and the Holyhead Harpies tie with the Ballycastle Bats for second place.

Then came the moment Harry was both looking forward to and dreading.

The third and final task.

As the task itself was scheduled to begin at six pm Harry was escorted down to the Quidditch stadium at five forty five to give the Champions families time to see them.

He left with the rest of the New Marauders wishing him luck and his siblings Draco and Molly hugging him.

When he reached the changing rooms he saw that Fleur was chatting away happily to her sister and two other people, both older. The woman had blonde hair and looked much like Fleur and her sister and Harry knew they were here Parents.

Harry also noticed that Krum's Parents were there talking to him. They looked serious but also seemed proud of their son.

Krum saw Harry and nodded respectfully. Harry nodded back.

Harry saw Cedric and greeted him. Cedric greeted him stiffly and Harry could see that he was very tense.

"Arry there you are!" a bright voice said and he was pulled over by Fleur to join her family for a moment.

Fleurs sister Gabrielle hugged him and he hugged her back while Fleur said "this is Arry, the one who saved Gabrielle".

When she said this her Parents faces lit up and they hugged him and kissed him on both cheeks exclaiming their everlasting gratitude for what he had done. "It was nothing" he tried to protest in embarrassment but they refused to listen and declared he was a hero to them and that if he ever needed help he only need ask.

After that Harry went over to his family. They were all there waiting to wish him luck.

He got hugs from Peter, Celia, Janice and David and bone crushing ones along with advice from his Parents and Sirius "you be careful in that maze. It doesn't matter about the trophy" his Father told him "if you get hurt just send up sparks and get help".

Harry promised he would do so and then left along with the other Champions.

They were met by the five judges with the new Headmaster of Durmstrang a jolly man named Zakarrov taking the place of Asimov.

The rules were covered one more time to make sure the Champions understood and then Ludo Bagman tapped his wand and muttered "Sonorous". The wand made a loud screeching noise and when he spoke next his voice was amplified "Ladies and Gentlemen!" he shouted "welcome to the third and final task of this latest Triwizard Tournament!" the crowd roared it's approval.

He handed the wand to Cornelius Fudge the tournament organiser and, rumour had it, one of the top contenders for the Minister of Magic position.

Looking at him Harry was horrified at the prospect of such a vain, stupid man becoming Minister.

"I declare the third and final task underway!" Fudge declared.

The crowd roared again and Harry entered the maze through the gap in front of him.

His wand at the ready he began to pick his way along the path through the maze.

The first danger he came across was not long after Cedric had entered the maze nearby.

He came face to face with what seemed to be a Dementor.

For a moment harry froze in panic forgetting his training. But then a thought came into his head 'it's not a Dementor, you're not hearing anything bad'.

He realised that instead of being a Dementor it was in fact just a Boggart "Riddikulus!" he shouted while concentrating on making the Boggart less scary.

The result was that the Boggart changed into a unicycle riding clown with bright blue hair, a red nose and over large shoes.

The Boggart dealt with he moved on past it.

There was not much danger round the next two corners until he reached a puddle in the middle of the path.

He felt certain that the puddle was deeper than it looked and that a magical being lay within.

He was soon proved correct as, when he approached it, a Hinkypunk popped up shining brightly. This way!" it said urgently jerking it's thumb to the path in front of Harry.

"This way come on, follow me!" it said getting up out of the puddle and moving along the path.

Harry was not fooled as he'd faced one in his Third Year end of year exam and it hadn't fooled him then either.

He jumped as high as he could over the pond, rolled and carried on having turned to the right.

After a few more twists and turns he heard a shout and saw red sparks flashing up. The shout had been female but it was too far away for Harry to help.

He sincerely hoped that Fleur would be alright as he'd really grown to like her.

Not looking where he was going he next found himself in front of a Sphinx like creature that was lying down blocking the path in front of him, the path he knew, was the correct one.

"Ah the second Champion" the Sphinx said to Harry "well met young man".

"Nice to meet you" Harry replied politely.

The sphinx laughed "and so polite" she said appreciatively "I hate to ask this but it is my duty. In order to get past me you must answer a riddle".

Harry nodded "if you answer wrong I am afraid I must attack. If you answer right I shall stand aside. If you choose not to answer I shall let you leave with good wishes".

Harry thought for a moment knowing that riddles from such creatures were notoriously difficult but also unable see another way round.

'I have to get past' he thought to himself and this one thought dominated his mind "ask me the riddle" he said.

The Sphinx nodded "I hold much power. I can be used for good or evil, but am not intrinsically bad nor inherently good, what am I?".

Harry thought about it for awhile.

What object was used by a wizard that wasn't bad itself but could be used for good or evil. There several possibilities but somehow Harry felt that wand would not be the correct answer as it was too obvious.

Then the answer hit him. A powerful object, can be used for good or evil, not intrinsically bad or inherently evil...the Philosophers Stone!.

Harry took a deep breath, keep all fingers crossed and hoping he had got the riddle right he replied "the Philosophers Stone".

The Sphinx beamed at him "correct young wizard" she said happily and stood aside for him to pass "good luck" she called after him.

As Harry turned several more corners he heard a shout and saw Victor krum up ahead.

He was being attacked by a Blast-Ended Skrewt and seemed to be hurt.

"Victor!" Harry called out, racing towards him.

"Bombarda!" Harry yelled out and the creature exploded raining bits of it everywhere.

Krum sat heavily on the ground "I thank you for your help Harry" he said gritting his teeth against his pain.

Harry could see that Krum's wand arm had a deep gash in it and burn marks "I cannot continue" Krum said seriously.

He shifted his wand with difficulty into his left hand and threw up sparks "good luck Harry" Krum said.

Harry nodded "thanks, get well soon Victor" he said and then left the older boy.

He continued through the maze until he reached a point near it's centre. He saw with horror that an Acromantula as tall as the hedge rows was advancing on him.

He threw several spells at it that had no effect.

Cedric Diggory arrived and ignoring Harry, tried to get to the centre of the maze.

"Cedric!" Harry shouted.

Cedric was grabbed by the Acromantula.

Harry shouted "Confringo!" the force of the spell pushed the beast back some but did not defeat it "Confringo!" Harry shouted again and followed it up with "Conjunctiva!".

The first spell drove the beast back while the second blinded it. It began to stumble about as if drunk before dropping Cedric hard on the ground.

With the beast unable to see Harry took his chance.

He sprang towards the beast, slid under it's large legs and through to the other side.

Cedric was following close behind and it appeared as if it would be a race to see who took the cup first but as Harry looked round at the centre of the maze just feet from the cup he noticed that Cedric had vanished.

He had not heard a shout or anything and went to grasp the cup.

He heard "no!" and turned round to see Cedric running towards the cup looking dishevelled and upset.

Harry felt bad for Cedric but **he **had won fair and square and he wasn't going to give up on something he'd won on his own merit.

He grasped the cup and held it aloft.

The maze began to recede in front of him and Hagrid and others from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures came forward to deal with the various creatures in the maze.

Harry could see near the changing rooms, Krum and Fleur being checked over by a concerned Madam pomfrey.

He looked over at Cedric.

The Seventh Year seemed stunned at having lost and also a little angry but he shook Harry's hand and said "congratulations" before walking off in dejection.

Ludo Bagman, Cornelius Fudge and Professors Dumbledore, Maxime and Zakarrov approached him.

The Headmasters and Headmistress congratulated him while Bagman seemed delighted smiling widely as he announced "Ladies and Gentlemen the winner of this Triwizard Tournament...Mr Harry Potter!".

The Gryffindor's roared with joy at the declaration as did many Ravenclaws.

The Hufflepuff's didn't boo they just seemed as dejected as had Cedric.

The Slytherins of course booed loudly but Harry payed them no mind as he was swamped by friends and family and others all cheering for him, applauding him and giving him hugs and congratulations.

"Congratulations my boy" Mr Fudge said cordially as he handed Harry his 10,000 galleon winnings tucked away safely in a magically sealed bag that only he or someone he gave permission to, could open.

Ginny swept him up in a hug to rival those of his Mum and Mrs Weasley while kissing every part of his face and murmuring "you're safe" over and over in obvious relief.

Harry left the pitch held aloft on the shoulders of the jubilant Gryffindor's and a party was duly held in the Gryffindor common room rivalling that of any party held for Quidditch.

So joyous were the Gryffindor's that even Professor McGonagall didn't stop by to complain about the noise.

Harry for his part was simply glad the tournament was over and he could get back to normal life.

The end of term feast was a spectacular affair that next day and despite the fact Gryffindor had lost the House Cup for the first time in three years Harry didn't mind as it was Ravenclaw who had won it not Slytherin.

On the train ride home the morning after the last day of the school year Harry asked Fred and George to join him and the other New Marauders in their compartment.

The Twins were bemused but followed him.

Their bemusement grew when he threw up a silencing spell and swore everyone there not to say a word to anyone else about what he was about to do.

When they had so sworn he removed from his trunk the magically sealed bag, the ownership of which he transferred to Fred and George.

They were stunned as they realised what was in the bag and tried to refuse "but Harry that's your winnings!" George protested "yeah we can't take them from you mate" Fred added.

Harry waved away their concerns "look, I know you guys are hoping to go into the joke shop business and need money for funds, well consider this an investment by me if not a gift" he told them firmly "I've got more than enough money for, probably ever, you two deserve the funds. Put them to good use. Make people laugh, there are never enough laughs in this world" he said seriously "just make me a silent partner when you open your eventual shop and it's all yours".

Fred and George agreed enthusiastically and everyone spent the rest of the ride chatting about the gold galleons and what they would be used for.

Harry was glad that for once he was coming home and the year had not ended in some sort of tragedy or near tragedy.

* * *

Authors Note: Well folks that's Year Four completed.

The next chapter will take place in the summer and will see more nightmare for Harry, his birthday and a family holiday.


	37. Chapter 37

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the Potter Universe. I only lay claim my original characters including Molly Potter.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Seven: Nightmares, Holiday & Surprises

A week had gone by since the end of the Triwizard Tournament and end of the school year.

Harry thought about everything that had occurred during the year as he sat on his bed and stared at a shelf that had been erected for his Triwizard Cup trophy.

It had been another crazy year as could be expected at a school of witches and wizards. There had been many highs and several lows including the low of being shoved into the tournament against his will, his brief fight with Ron and several plots to kidnap him.

The highs however had overcome the lows as he grew even closer with Ginny who he loved with all his heart. This together with his success in the Triwizard Tournament helped make it one of his better years at Hogwarts.

He had especially enjoyed most of his classes that year save for History of Magic which he had always been bored by and Herbology which he couldn't seem to get the hang of no matter how hard he tried.

He turned his attention to the list of classes he would be taking for the next school year (his Fifth) at Hogwarts.

As always the core subjects of Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Astronomy and Potions were there on the list.

He looked at the electives list and signed off on his two electives of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures both of which he had enjoyed immensely during the two years he had taken them.

He sighed as he stared at his two least favourite subjects, Herbology and History of Magic, wishing fervently that he could just drop them.

Neither of them were of any use to him for although he not yet settled on a career after Hogwarts he did have two possibles in mind.

The first was to become a professional Quidditch player. It was his most favourite sport in the world and he had been told many times that not only was he an amazing Seeker at Hogwarts but that he would be amazing if he turned pro.

The second career that really interested him was teaching. Most specifically teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts which was the subject he enjoyed above all others.

Both careers had their drawbacks with them being that Harry would be in the public view and he tended to not like attention very much but he'd already decided that these drawbacks would not stop him pursuing a career in one of these professions.

He decided not to think anything more on it as he stood up from his bed, crossed to the door and headed out onto the landing.

He was not surprised when he bumped into Molly, Draco and David on the same landing and all heading for the stairs "Quidditch?" he asked.

The three of them grinned and David shouted "Quidditch!" happily.

They made their way downstairs to the Entrance Hall and headed for the kitchen to have some lunch.

They found Remus and Peter sat down at the kitchen table hunched over some sheets of parchment "doing the accounts?" Harry asked them as he grabbed some ingredients for a sandwich.

Remus sighed from his position next to Peter "yes" he said sounding very bored.

"We're supposed to have them done before Monday so the Ministry Tax Office can file them" Peter informed them.

"Sounds like a dull way to pass the weekend" remarked Draco.

Remus snorted "it's more dull than you could possibly imagine" he said.

It was as if a light bulb had gone off in Harry's head.

They just had the weekend to do stuff at the Manor before the whole family went on a three week long holiday to Egypt.

It had been a collective decision by all of them except the twins who were too young to make suggestions.

The possible locations had been Egypt which Harry, Draco and Molly had favoured because the Weasleys had gone there, Canada and Italy.

In the end Egypt had received the votes of Harry, Draco, Molly, Remus and Sirius. David was happy to go along with anything while the other Marauders accepted with no issues.

"Why don't you two come and play some Quidditch for a couple of hours" he suggested.

Remus and Peter brightened up only the slump forward again "we can't" Peter said miserably.

"Too much to do" Remus agreed sounding just as down.

"Oh come on Moony, Wormtail, we'd love you to play" Draco added.

"Yeah it would be great, we could have three a side" Molly agreed.

"Please" David pleaded to Remus and Peter.

The two Marauders looked at the four children and grinned "of course, you know they manipulated us" Peter said jokingly.

"I do indeed Mr Wormtail but I think we should go with it. What say you?".

Peter laughed "I agree Mr Moony and I also think we should split up Harry and Draco" he added.

"Hey no fair!" Harry and Draco both protested at the same time.

"All's fair in Quidditch dear nephews" Peter said with a smirk.

"It is indeed Mr Wormtail" said Remus "who can we have be the referee though.

Harry saw that Draco had an idea "why not have one of the House Elves do it. Dobby, he loves Quidditch!".

Everyone generally decreed this to be a good idea and so Dobby was duly approached by the group with the request/offer.

Dobby seemed amazed at the offer the referee a Quidditch game and said multiple times "thank you Masters and Mistress!".

He was excitable all the way down to the Quidditch pitch and even as they grabbed their brooms and took to the skies.

Despite Dobby's excitable nature he proved to be a great Quidditch referee missing virtually nothing.

It had been generally decided that with there only being three a side each team would have a Goalkeeper, a Chaser and a Seeker.

It was decided to take Harry out of his natural role of Seeker as, in the words of Remus, he was just too damn good to beat.

Harry was disappointed not to play in his natural position but flattered that they thought he was so good.

Instead, Harry took up a position as Goalkeeper on Peters team while Peter played as a Chaser and they had David as Seeker.

On the opposite team Draco took up a position in Goal while Molly played as Seeker opposite David and Remus played as Chaser.

What followed was a fantastic back and forth encounter between the two teams in which Harry let in more goals than he saved and gave him a much bigger appreciation for what the Goalkeeper had to deal with in each game.

He also witnessed some excellent flying by both of his Uncles.

The best parts of the game however had been the battle between David and Molly to catch the snitch and win the game for their team.

When the final squaring off between the two came as they pursued the fleeing snitch, the game itself was poised very delicately at one hundred points each which meant that the one who caught the ball would win the game.

The younger witch and wizard threw at breakneck speeds over the pitch and both closed in on the little golden ball only for Molly to just manage to bump him out of the way and get her fingers over it and clutch it in her now sweating palm.

As everyone descended to the ground and the game ended David jokingly said "hey no fair!".

Molly laughed and knuckled his forehead playfully "everything's fair in Quidditch little munchkin".

The next day was rather hectic as they prepared for their holiday.

They had decided that to save time and effort they would travel the wizard way by floo.

On the Monday they loaded up all of their belongings into the car and set off for London.

They had to return several times to the house due to people forgetting things and thus by the time they entered the outskirts of London Lucy, who was driving, was feeling very frazzled. All the way there they'd had to put up with David saying "are we there yet?".

Finally they did arrive at Heathrow and pulled up into a parking space in the terminal car park.

They took their luggage from the car and headed towards the terminal.

Very casually, they all leaned as one against the wall.

If any Muggle had seen it they would have never believed it as the whole Marauder clan disappeared through the wall, luggage and all.

The Marauder Clan looked round at the gleaming terminal.

There were wizards and witches of every kind milling around, some appeared to be coming others going.

Many had stopped to chat to friends or acquaintances and as the Marauder Clan moved along to their designated point they could hear snatches of conversation "...actually tried to kidnap him" a black wizard said in a thick South African accent.

"...did the West Country proud in that tournament" came the the voice of a man who Harry guessed was from Somerset.

They reached their correct point of departure and the adults shrunk down all of the luggage to make things easier, only setting aside a few essentials.

Harry went up to the front desk with his Dad James to speak to the woman on the desk.

As they were waiting in the queue James asked with a grin "excited for the holiday Harry?".

Harry grinned and nodded back "you bet I am!" he said "I can't wait to explore those old tombs and the Great Pyramids and see the Sphinx it's going to be great".

James nodded in agreement.

The last few customers in front of them were quickly served and James and Harry found themselves at the front of the queue looking into the face of a round middle aged witch with a smiling face.

It was a kind smile, friendly, helpful, approachable "good day to you how can I help you both today?" she asked beaming.

Harry and James beamed back "and a very good day to you" James said "we're here for the grate to Cairo, Egypt, party of thirteen under the name of Potter".

Harry liked the woman even more when she didn't look at his scar. As he secretly thanked her for being so decent, she consulted the book where bookings for travel were made "Pot...potter...Potter!, here we are, grate number...three!" she said brightly "there are a few people queuing up there but you should be able to go through in about twenty minutes" she said with a smile.

"Thank you very much, you've been very kind" James said pleasantly.

"Have a nice day" he called out as did Harry and the woman said the same.

They returned to the others "grate number three" James told them and the thirteen of them moved off to said grate.

There was indeed a queue but in twenty two minutes they were able to start heading through.

James and Remus went first to guide everyone through.

Harry and Draco went next with Molly going through with Lucy.

Janice took David through and was followed on by Celia carrying one of the twins while Peter carried the other and Sirius brought up the rear.

They arrived in a bustling magical hub and joined a group of wizards and witches queuing to have their trip certified by the Egyptian Ministry of Magic.

This process did not take long and they were soon heading off in a specially hired, magically enlarged car, to their hotel.

They had decided on a hotel in a magic area and at which only those with magic would stay, in order to save any problems and be able to be themselves.

As they approached the hotel in the car Harry was mesmerised by the sights.

There were palm trees dotted everywhere and a massive fountain was in the middle of the road leading up to it, like a much nicer roundabout.

They pulled up and pulled out cages, trunks and suitcases. He talked to Hedwig as he walked "hey girl" he said stroking her feathers "what do you think?" she hooted in approval and he smiled "yeah it's great isn't it".

He heard his mother and father talking loudly "what on earth did you pack?" he said as he attempted to shift one of the resized trunks "just enough for three weeks" his mum said with a smile. She winked at him and Harry had to stuff a fist into his mouth to stifle the laughter.

Luckily there were plenty of porters on hand to help with the loading up of the luggage onto the trolleys.

They tried to place Hedwigs cage on one of them only for Harry to declare he would carry her up to his and Draco's room.

Once the Marauder Clan were settled happily in their rooms and the twins had been fed and changed the entire family headed out to see the sights of Cairo especially it's bazaars.

They found a Punch and Judy show off all things and stayed to watch it finding it very funny.

* * *

For the next week they explored Cairo enjoying all of the sights and sounds of the famous old city.

On the Saturday they spent time relaxing in the hotel with Harry, Draco, Molly and David spending most of their time in the pool swimming and playing other pool games.

On the Sunday there was a wizard chess tournament hosted in the grand ballroom which Draco entered with Harry, David and Molly watching each game and giving him moral support as he reached the final against an Egyptian wizard who he only narrowly lost against.

Harry was having fun on the holiday but still found himself missing Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Neville a lot and had in fact sent letters to them along with postcards that very night.

He knew the that given the very long distance it was likely the letters and postcard would not arrive for another week.

On the Monday the whole family travelled to Giza to see the pyramids and the sphinx which had been the thing Harry was most looking forward to.

When they arrived he had felt that he'd been right to be excited. The tour of the various pyramids including some of the resting places of the Pharaohs had been enthralling as had the close up view of the sphinx statue and Harry was amazed to learn from the tour guide that all of the pyramids and the sphinx had been constructed by humans alone.

The rest of the week was spent touring various parts of Egypt including a boat ride along the Nile River.

During the final week of their holiday they once again spent much of it in Cairo but on the last day of the holiday they took a trip to Karnak to visit the various ruins and go into the museum.

"It's incredible how old all of this is" Harry remarked to Draco as they viewed the ruins of an old temple.

His brother nodded in agreement "we have nothing this ancient back in England" he replied.

Harry and the others were fascinated to learn that parts of the ruins dated back as far as 2000 BC "they must have been very good builders" Molly said in awe.

Harry agreed. He had never seen such well built structures that had survived for so long.

On the day that they were to leave Egypt and return to England Harry went to the suite of rooms occupied by his Uncle Sirius, Aunt Janice and brother David and was surprised to hear the sound of someone being sick coming from the bathroom.

He knocked on the door "hello?".

In response all he heard was the sound of someone throwing up into the toilet.

He went past the bathroom. The door to the master bedroom was open but he knocked on it anyway out of politeness "come in" came the voice of his Godfather.

Harry walked in and found his Uncle sat on the king sized bed. His face was very serious.

Harry could see his Godfather was very worried about something and once again his talent for reading his families emotions kicked into gear "is that Aunt Janice in the bathroom?" he asked.

Sirius nodded dully "I don't know what's wrong with her" he said sounding fairly panic stricken.

Harry sat on the bed next to him and clapped him on the shoulder "I could tell by your face you were worried" he had a thought "maybe she's pregnant" he said off hand.

His Uncle gaped at him in shock "preg...pregnant?" he whispered.

Harry shrugged "it's just an idea on account of the sudden sickness. I mean...I remember when Aunt Celia went through the same thing with the twins".

One look at his Godfathers face told him that Sirius was both annoyed with himself for not having considered the possibility and also hopeful that this could truly be the cause.

He ruffled Harry's hair, leapt up from the bed and bounded towards the bathroom.

Harry followed him and heard the subsequent conversation "do you think you might be pregnant?" his Uncle asked.

His Aunt answered sounding hoarse "I might be. I had this same sickness with David" she replied.

Harry stayed with Aunt and made sure she was alright as Sirius used the spell for checking pregnancy.

He could tell by Sirius' face and his reaction to the spell, that Aunt Janice was indeed pregnant.

"Yahoo!" his Godfather shrieked in joy as he jumped round the entire hotel suite and shouted "I'm going to be a father!" over and over.

The sounds of joyful shouting brought in the rest of the Marauder Clan who were told the joyous news and duly congratulated the happy couple with hugs and kind words.

Harry was so happy for them both.

* * *

Due to Janice's morning sickness their return to England was delayed for a day but by the afternoon of the 25th of July they were back at the Manor safe and sound.

Harry, Draco, Molly and Davids friends wasted no time in calling to the Manor to welcome them back.

Harry and Draco headed off with Hermione, Neville, Ron and an overjoyed Ginny who greeted him as enthusiastically as he greeted her with a long kiss that was only broken when Ron coughed awkwardly.

Their friends were thrilled with their presents as Harry and Draco gave Neville a book on African magical plants with instructions how to grow them in England plus several packets of seeds.

Hermione received several books on magic in Egypt including one on how the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs utilised magic to serve them as well as how many if not all of the Pharaohs had magic themselves "it would make sense" Hermione said as she flipped through the book.

For Ron they got several gifts. The first one was a fez like his favourite comedian and magician the late Tommy Cooper had worn. Ron put it on instantly, did the hand movement and said happily "just like that" to much laughter from the others.

Ron was also given some much nicer dress robes.

Harry had wanted to get him new ones but Draco had convinced him that, given Ron's opinion on being given charity, he wouldn't take the gift.

Harry had listened and they had instead purchased him a pair of second hand orange robes with gold trim which Ron thought looked excellent.

The next day on the 26th of July Harry exited his bedroom early that morning and met up with Draco and Molly with whom he did his morning runs when home.

All through their exercise he had a bad feeling about that day. As if something bad had happened or was going to happen later on.

When he, Draco and Molly entered the kitchen for breakfast, after a long shower, they were met with glum faces from their Aunts, Uncles and Parents who were staring at a copy of the Daily Prophet that lay on the kitchen table.

After greeting them all Harry asked "why are you all so upset this morning?".

His Dad sighed and pointed to the Prophet which Harry made to pick it up "no no don't read it!" his Mum exclaimed sounding unhappy.

Harry shook his head feeling that all adults were mad and picked up the Prophet anyway.

When he saw the headline on the front page he wished he had left the paper alone "oh god no!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

He looked to the adults hoping it was some sort of poorly devised joke by Sirius or one of the others but none of them raised a smile they merely looked glum.

Draco looked over his shoulder at the headline and swore "Draco language!" his Mother scolded him.

"Sorry" Draco said automatically, not sounding sorry at all.

"It can't be true though can it?" Harry asked.

"It's true" Remus said softly "read the article on the first page".

Harry flipped turned to the first page and began to read "Mr Cornelius Fudge, previously Head of the Department of Magical Games and Sports has been duly elected Minister for Magic by a majority vote of the Wizengamot, Mr Fudge received 29 votes. His opponents Mr Amos Diggory received 15 votes while Mr Patroclus Nott received 16 votes".

"Mr Nott took votes away from Mr Diggory!" Harry exclaimed furiously.

"I'll bet it was all cooked up between Fudge and Nott before hand" Sirius said angrily.

No one else could gainsay this idea as everyone had met both men and knew them to be unscrupulous and power hungry.

"This is a disaster" Harry said as he sat down heavily "he'll roll back all the legislation to that helps werewolves and you can bet Deatheaters like Nott will have more power".

* * *

Harry's birthday celebrations on the 31st of July were very happy due to a piece of unexpected news. One from the Prophet and one which arrived with the Hogwarts letters.

Harry was halfway through his birthday breakfast of pancakes with lavish amounts of golden syrup when there was a loud pecking sound at the kitchen window.

"That'll probably be one of the school owls" his Dad said as he walked over to the table and opened the window for the bird which flew in past him, circled the room once and dropped several envelopes on the kitchen table.

As the tired looking bird landed Harry's Mum placed a goblet of water in front of it and the owl drank gratefully as well as having a nibble of some sausage offered by Draco.

The owl then took off, no doubt to deliver further letters to students.

Harry set down his fork, grabbed his letter and passed along Draco and Molly's.

He was about to open it when he felt something bumpy on the inside. The envelope felt heavier than usual.

He shook it cautiously wondering what it could possibly be.

"No special books this year" remarked Draco reading his letter before catching the look on Harry's face "Harry what's the matter?".

Harry stared at the envelope frowning a bit "there's something rattling about inside my envelope but I can't think what it could be" he said.

"Well only one way to find out Son" James said to Harry "open it".

Harry took his Dad's advice and tore open the envelope.

His hands gripped around the usual letter which came out.

The letter was not alone, being accompanied by a shiny silver P badge.

Harry was confused for a moment as his mind caught up with his eyes. When it did he was stunned.

His siblings had noticed this and Molly asked "Harry you look concerned, what's wrong?".

"I...I...nothings wrong. It's..." Harry paused trying to find the right words "P...P...Pre...Prefect" Harry stuttered out in shock.

"What?" Draco said.

"Prefect" Harry repeated. He said it louder as it sunk in "Prefect!". He stood up "I've been made a Prefect!" he shouted.

His siblings were openly gaping at him.

His Dad was looking on waiting to the look at the badge.

There was a crash from the sink as Lucy dropped a plate which shattered loudly on the stone floor.

James flicked his wand at the plate which repaired itself and flew back up into Lucy's hand.

"You've what!" Lucy shrieked.

"I've been made a Prefect Mum" Harry said still feeling amazed.

His Mum ran over from the sink to the table, took the silver badge and examined it carefully confirming that it was indeed a Prefect badge "you've been made a Prefect!" Lucy exclaimed in joy before gathering her Son into a bone crushing hug.

James stood up looking at the silver pin badge and said "I'm so proud of you Harry" before he too gathered Harry into a tight hug.

When James released him his eyes were shining brightly with tears.

Both Draco and Molly congratulated him.

When Sirius, Remus, Peter, Celia and Janice all heard the news he received sincere congratulations from Remus, Celia and Janice while both Sirius and Peter looked mock offended that a Marauder would be made a Prefect at all. This attitude by them lasted for only a few moments as James and Remus minded the pair of them that James had been made a Prefect in his Fifth Year also.

The birthday celebrations after that were some of the happiest Harry had ever had.

That afternoon Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna and Fred and George came over for Harry's party being accompanied by Mr and Mrs Weasley, Mr and Mrs Longbottom, Mr and Mrs Granger and Mr and Mrs Lovegood.

Among the other attendees were the former Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team Oliver Wood who, Harry was happy to hear, had been selected for the Puddlemere United first team plus the remaining members of Harry's Quidditch team Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet, his virtual Uncle Severus Snape, Augusta Longbottom, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Charlie, Bill and Percy Weasley and Alastor Moody the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.

When Hermione arrived she pulled Harry to the side and after greeting him she showed him the silver P badge that she too had been given "I'm the girls Fifth Year Prefect" she told Harry happily.

Harry was overjoyed at this news.

He hugged her warmly.

When they pulled apart he said sincerely "no one I know deserves it more than you" Hermione beamed at this compliment.

The Weasley twins Fred and George came over "what..." Fred said.

"Are..." George continued.

"You..." Fred carried on.

"Talking..." George said.

"About?" they both said.

Harry and Hermione both showed them the silver P badges without thinking.

Both Fred and George gaped at the badges with horror "oh no!" Fred said loudly. "Not them!" said Fred.

"This is awful!" George said.

"A tragedy!" Fred exclaimed.

"A travesty!" George added.

"Marauders as Prefects!" they both said together.

Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes at the exchange and Harry reminded them of the very thing his Dad had said to Sirius and Peter that morning "my Dad became a Prefect in his Fifth Year and it didn't change him" he pointed out and then added "and your brother Percy is a great guy as are your other brothers Charlie and Bill".

The twins shrugged "fair point" they said together and seemed to be more accepting of it after that.

Harry received many great presents that day but one of the best was a foe glass presented to him by Professor Moody.

At one point during the party, Harry's girlfriend Ginny was dancing with Neville giving Harry the chance to talk to Professor Moody.

He walked over to the table with a glass of punch which he sipped as he sat down. He knew better than to offer any to Moody who was very suspicious and refused to drink anything he hadn't poured himself "thanks again for the gift Professor" Harry said to the scarred wizard.

Moody smiled, or rather he gave what could be perceived as a smile "I hope it helps Harry I really do" he growled.

"I'm sure it will" Harry responded.

He was about to ask what Moody's lesson plan would be for the new term when the man himself spoke first "Harry I'm not returning to Hogwarts when the new school year begins in September".

Harry gaped at the man in absolute confusion "but...but...why?" he asked, unable to believe that he would not see the man at Hogwarts. He'd really enjoyed chatting with him about defensive magic during the last few months of the school year.

Moody eyed him seriously and said "all I can tell you Harry, is that Albus...that is Professor Dumbledore has found something out about a certain dark wizard".

"Voldemort" Harry guessed right away.

Moody nodded "he's discovered something important that could help us cause problems for him if he returns" the man revealed "so I won't be around for most of this next school year".

Harry felt great disappointment at this news. Moody had been one of only two good defence teachers he and the others had had "then who is taking over from you?" Harry asked feeling curious.

"Professor Dumbledore informed me he has an eye on someone he thinks would be an ideal candidate and someone who would want to do the job".

Moody stood up "I'll say goodbye now Harry. I set off on my journey tomorrow" Harry and Moody shook hands and the mans wooden leg and his stick clack clacked loudly on the ground as he left the garden.

* * *

The next day bad news came with the morning edition of the Daily Prophet newspaper that wiped away much of the happiness from the day before.

Harry entered the kitchen that morning of the 1st of August for breakfast only to find all of the adults were upset about something.

He just caught the end of what he assumed to be a conversation "...didn't take them long" Sirius finished with a growl of anger.

"What's happened?" Harry asked as he took in the strained, angry and upset expressions.

No one answered so he picked up the copy of the Prophet.

The headline of the newspaper glared out at him aggressively and made his blood boil "dark creatures rights curbed". Under the headline was a photograph of a werewolf.

Harry turned the page and read the article inside, his face turning more and more red in rage.

With the support of the majority of the Wizengamot no doubt half of them through fear, the legislation that protected werewolf rights was repealed as was the legislation that allowed them to own their own business. The only saving grace was that werewolves were still allowed to go to Hogwarts and own their own property.

This news meant that any business owned fully or partially by werewolves would be in danger of being forcibly closed down.

"Does this mean you and Wormtail will lose your business?" Harry asked feeling sad for his Uncles.

Remus smiled sadly "no the business will remain open but..." his voice caught "I won't be a partner anymore" he finished sounding close to tears.

Harry was very angry on his behalf as he knew how much the shop and business as a whole had meant to him.

Indeed, Remus and Peter had made plans to open a branch of their business in a new shopping space in Hogsmeade in September but now it seemed this probably wouldn't happen.

"What will you do for money?" Harry asked his Uncle in concern.

Remus smiled and Harry detected the sadness but also some triumph in it "Wormtail has immediately offered me a job working at Pettigrew and Lupin Muggle Products PLC. The name has been changed to read Pettigrew Muggle Products PLC and officially I'm an employee but in reality I'm handling the financial side of things for the business as I always have".

Harry smiled at the craftiness of his Uncles and grabbed Remus in a hug "I'm glad everything will be alright for you Moony" he said happily.

* * *

The rest of August passed by quickly including a very enjoyable Fourteenth birthday party at The Burrow for Ginny at which Harry gave his girlfriend the new blue winter coat he knew she had talked about saving up for.

Soon the 1st of September arrived and there was the usual chaos at Marauder Manor as the Marauder Clan rushed to be ready in time.

The last items were placed into trunks and luggage was stored securely in the boots of the two cars that would be heading up to London.

Harry squeezed into the back of his Parents Ford and placed his cage in between himself and Draco.

After goodbyes and good wished were exchanged between Harry, Draco, Molly and the House Elves, the cars pulled out through the iron gates and made their steady progress.

At ten forty am the two cars pulled into parking spaces at Kings Cross Station and the Marauder Clan hurried to get both luggage and people onto the platform and through the barrier onto platform 9 and 3/4.

Their good time ensured that they had more than enough time to exchange goodbyes and get the luggage up onto the train before it left.

Harry and Draco had just finished stowing their luggage and theirs sisters in their separate compartments when their friends began arriving.

Hermione was, unsurprisingly given her excellent time keeping, the first to arrive on the platform with Harry and Draco helping stow her trunk and cat box in their compartment.

Luna arrived next and greeted Harry with a hug while hugging and kissing Draco "hey darling" she said with a warm smile.

She sat down next to Draco.

Then came Neville.

Harry checked his watch. It said ten fifty five. "Five minutes till the train leaves" Harry commented.

Draco, Luna and Neville chuckled "leaving it late as usual" Neville quipped causing more chuckles.

And finally with much shouting and hurrying came the Weasleys.

Harry, Draco, Neville and Luna helped haul the trunks and other luggage up onto the train.

After a brief greeting to the younger students Fred and George left to find their friend Lee Jordan.

"Harry we'd better change into our robes and head off to the Prefect meeting" Hermione said.

Harry, having feeling he knew who would be his Slytherin counterpart, was not much looking forward to this meeting. Still, he got up, kissed Ginny on the cheek and said "we'll be back soon" as he reached the compartment door he called back "Draco can you feed Hedwig for me?" his brother nodded "no problem".

Harry smiled "thanks" and he and Hermione headed to separated toilets to change.

They emerged a short time later in their clean and pressed Hogwarts robes emblazoned with the red and orange Lion crested badge of their House and complimented by the silver Prefect badge shining near the Gryffindor badge.

"Shall we Mr Potter?" Hermione asked in the same manner as Harry's Father and Uncles often did.

Harry grinned widely "I believe I am agreeable Miss Granger" he answered.

As they headed down the corridor and through each set of doors Harry said "you know I think we all need our own set of nicknames".

Hermione was thoughtful "it's a good idea Harry but we can't use animal names so it could take time to decide" she spotted Harry's expression and asked hesitantly "what have you done?".

Harry felt nervous admitting "me and Draco have been studying to be Animagi".

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed chidingly.

"I know...I know" Harry said "but you don't need to worry. All we've done is read up on it, we've not tried doing the transformation nor even checked what our form would be yet".

Hermione wiped her forehead in evident relief "good" she eyed Harry seriously "make sure you don't" she said as she wagged a finger in his face.

True to Harry's apprehensive thoughts, he'd been right about the meeting. Theodore Nott had been made Slytherin Fifth Year Prefect alongside Daphne Greengrass and Harry noted that the two of them were cold to each other and Nott couldn't help but get in a dig at him "bought yourself the Prefect position eh Potter?" he said sneeringly.

"Unlike you I worked hard for it Nott. I bet all you did was make threats".

"Settle down you two" said Angelina Johnson who'd been made Head Girl that year.

Harry noticed that the Head Boy was the same Ravenclaw who'd attended the Yule Ball with Fleur, Roger Davies.

Harry and Nott did not pass insults for the rest of the meeting instead confining themselves to glaring at each other.

The meeting itself went on for an hour as the Head Boy and Head Girl with the help of the Sixth and Seventh Year Prefects, went over the duties of the new Prefects which were fairly straightforward.

They had the ability to take points, give detentions and break up fights provided they were sensible and unbiased when using such powers. They also had the duty to look after the new First Year students of their House and make sure the new students had no issues.

The perks were no less impressive as they received their own carriage on the Hogwarts Express, their own Fifth Year Prefects bathroom which Angelina assured them was very nice and they could go into Hogsmeade every weekend during the school year unless they had a prior engagement such as Quidditch or detention.

Once the meeting was over Harry and Hermione split the rest of the train journey between patrolling the corridors and hanging out with the rest of the New Marauders.

* * *

Authors Note: This is the end of the summer. The next chapter will see an unexpected staff announcement, nicknames being chosen and the first classes of the year.


	38. Chapter 38

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all the rights to the Potterverse I am merely putting my own spin on it.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Eight: Staff Announcement, Nicknames & First Classes

The train rolled into Hogsmeade Station and after Harry and Hermione had got their luggage onto the platform they went back to their Prefect duty "come on, First Years follow us" Harry announced.

"No need to be worried, just follow us" they collected several lost looking First Years and brought them along the platform.

They soon heard the booming voice of Hagrid the Hogwarts Gamekeeper "Firs Years!, Firs Years, over here!" he called out.

Harry and Hermione approached him with their group of First Years "hi Hagrid we have some with us" Harry said by way of greeting.

"Hell Harry!, Hermione!" Hagrid beamed at them. His smiled grew, if possible, even wider as he noticed the gleaming silver Prefect badges pinned on their robes.

"Both made Prefect eh?" he chuckled "course I knew you both would even with your...shall we say penchant for bending the rules Harry".

They all shared a laugh at this "this Rubeus Hagrid" Harry told the scared looking First Years "there's no need to be scared around him, he's a great guy, he'll listen to your troubles and give you a lot of advice and he's always willing to help out".

At these words some of the First Years relaxed slightly "Hagrid will be the one to take you across the Black Lake which is how First Years get to Hogwarts" Hermione informed them all.

Harry and Hermione left the group of First Years and headed to the carriages for the ride up the path to Hogwarts.

It was raining heavily and as Harry and Hermione climbed into the one containing Neville, Ron and Draco they were glad to be shielded from it.

They squeezed in next to the others.

"So how was the first day of being a Prefect?" Draco asked his brother.

Harry shrugged "it was fine, the older Prefects dealt with most incidents on the train. We did help out some lost First Years though".

"Poor things" Hermione commented.

Eventually the carriages pulled up to the gates which opened by themselves admitting the carriages full of students.

One by one the Thestral drawn carriages pulled up to the foot of the front steps and waited as the students exited them.

Harry gave one of the Thestrals an appreciative pat.

His opinion of the creatures being an omen of death had changed after a chat with Hagrid in his Third Year where Hagrid had informed him they were very misunderstood creatures with kind natures and due to what they represented supposedly, they were also very lonely.

It was lucky of course that no one else had seen him patting them as most students believed the carriages drew themselves and certainly wouldn't be likely to believe they were pulled by most invisible creatures.

Harry and the rest of the New Marauders waited for Ginny and Luna before heading up the steps and into the castle through the open doors.

As they entered the castle Harry performed a quick drying charm on his clothes and those of Hermione, Ron, Draco, Neville, Ginny and Luna who all gave variations on thanks.

The group entered the Great Hall and said goodbye to Luna who would, for that night, have to sit at her House table.

Harry always felt sorry for her as no one in her House had even tried to make friends with her and didn't see what a great human being she really was.

He was also angry at the students in her year and some of those above her year who had bullied her in previous years by hiding her shoes amongst other cruel pranks.

Harry loved pranks as much as the next person but not if they involved cruelty or hurting someone's feelings.

Harry and the others took seats near Fred, George and Lee and conversed with them on various topics as everyone waited for the First Years to arrive.

"I hope they arrive soon I want the feast to start" Ron complained.

Harry rolled his eyes as his best friends was thinking of his stomach as always "is eating all you ever think of?" Hermione asked incredulously.

"Well you should know by now Hermione" Ginny said in amusement "you've been dating him now since what Third Year?".

Hermione laughed "true enough" she replied.

After twenty minutes or so the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall looking stern as always entered looking immaculately dressed in her usual set of dark green robes with black trim and her usual pointed hat containing a feather.

As she strode up the central aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables she was followed by a large group of wet, cold and nervous First Years.

Harry could remember being that nervous when he was due to be sorted and had a lot of sympathy for the First Years.

To this end he had already decided to do as much as he could as a Prefect to make them feel at home in the castle including answering any questions they may have and helping them if they got lost.

"I swear they get smaller and smaller every year" Ron declared.

"Oh honestly Ron I doubt they're smaller than last year!" Hermione said in exasperation though after she took a look at the First Years she admitted "maybe they are though, were we that small when we came here?".

Harry and the rest of the New Marauders watched as the sorting began and ten new students were added to Gryffindor House.

All of the new students were greeted happily except for one of them whose last name caught Harry's attention "Nott, Lucius" called out Professor McGonagall.

Up stepped a nervous looking First Year with the dark hair and facial looks of Harry's hated nemesis Theodore Nott.

The worried looking boy sat down on the stool as per instructions and placed the sorting hat on his head.

After what seemed like no time at all the hat cried out "Slytherin!".

When Lucius took the hat off he made no move to go to the Slytherin table.

He seemed frozen in place, ignorant to the cheers and applause of his new House mates "no...please!" he begged with the sorting hat and then Professor McGonagall.

Though the stern witch looked at the boy sympathetically Harry knew that First Years were never resorted and thus there was nothing she could do for him.

Harry had the feeling that Lucius' personality was very different than that of his older brother.

Lucius seemed much kinder. Harry made the decision to keep an eye out for the First Year and help him if needed it.

He could see the panicked looked in Lucius' eyes as he sat down miserably at the Slytherin table. Saw how the boy sat as far away as possible from his older brother 'he'll get no help with his problems from Nott' Harry thought sadly.

Harry then noticed someone who he had failed to spot as the sorting had taken place. It was Cedric Diggory who he knew from having competed against in the Quidditch Cup and the Triwizard Tournament.

He knew that Cedric had finished Hogwarts at the end of the last school but he hadn't known that the former student would be back in the castle.

Harry wondered why he was there.

Professor Dumbledore stood up and the usual accompanying chatter of the welcome feast died away "hello everyone" he said warmly "to those those of you returning to study here at Hogwarts I bid a warm welcome back. To those of you just starting out on your Hogwarts journey I bid a warm hello and hope you will enjoy your stay in the castle and will learn much. I will not keep you all from your food for too long" his eyes twinkled as he gazed at Ron who turned red with embarrassment "I merely have a few start of term announcements to make. Firstly as I say every year please will all students be aware that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all of you, no exceptions. Secondly, the list of contraband has increased to 450 items this year and now includes vomit sweets".

Fred and George glanced at each other grinning "Quidditch trials shall take place next Saturday, therefore any student wishing to try out must submit their name to the Captain of their House team no later than next Friday night".

Harry caught sight of Angelina nearby and she mouthed "I'll speak to you in a bit" Harry nodded and turned his attention back to Dumbledore.

"And finally Mr Alastor Moody who taught Defence Against The Dark Arts last year has had to retire due to health reason".

"Health reasons?" Neville said incredulously "no way is that the real reason".

Everyone looked at Harry, Molly and Draco who Moody was like an Uncle to "what?" Draco said as they stared at them.

"Well...you three are closest to him "what's the real reason?" Ron said.

Harry looked round the hall "I can't tell you here it's too crowded and someone might hear. We'll go to the Room of Requirement tomorrow and I'll tell you all then" he promised.

This seemed to satisfy the others as they returned to paying attention to Dumbledore "as a result we have had to appoint a new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher and the man seated next to Professor Snape has kindly agreed to step in and teach" the old wizard revealed.

Cedric stood up as most of the Hufflepuff's and many others cheered and applauded.

As for Harry he was monumentally surprised. He knew there was a severe lack of applicants and he didn't have anything against Cedric but wasn't he a little bit too young to be teaching?.

Still, Harry clapped politely at the announcement, Dumbledore finished the speech and everyone was allowed to tuck in to the sumptuous feast which most did, happily.

The only one, Harry noticed, that didn't seem to be enjoying the feast in any way whatsoever was Lucius Nott who was staring at his empty plate and not bothering to fill it up with food as others were doing.

Harry debated whether to go over and talk to him but to his vast relief both Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass who were very level headed and kind, managed to coax the younger boy to eat some food and spent much of the feast talking to him.

Harry revised his opinion of Slytherins from that point on, making the decision that not all Slytherins were bad (which for Harry was a great step forward).

Once the feast had ended Professor Dumbledore declared that it was time for all students to head to their House common rooms.

Harry saw Lucius being led away with the other Slytherin First Years by Daphne.

He wasn't even surprised that the older Nott couldn't be bothered to do his duty as a Prefect.

He recalled that he hadn't seen Nott once as he and Hermione patrolled the corridors of the Hogwarts Express.

Harry stood up from the table and followed Hermione over to the new First Years.

He and Hermione both had a list of their names which they had written down as the students were sorted, which meant they would never forget the students names.

Both felt this was very important in getting the new students to trust that they were there to help.

Harry consulted his list "right, Johnny Peakes, Peter Creevey...Creevey?" Harry looked at the boy with dark eyes and mousy brown hair.

If it wasn't for his height he would have been a carbon copy of Colin "silly question but are you related to Colin and Dennis Creevey?" Harry asked the boy.

Peter nodded enthusiastically "they're my older brothers!" he said happily "I can't believe I'm in the same House as the great Harry Potter!".

Inwardly Harry groaned. All he needed was another hero worshipper following him around.

He contented himself with the fact that Peter didn't have a camera with him. That didn't last long "can I take a picture of you when I get my camera?" the boy asked eagerly.

Harry sighed but said "yes if you want to".

He called out the names of the other boys "Samuel Wood...Wood?" he beamed at the younger boy "are you Oliver Wood's younger brother?" he asked.

The boy nodded "that's right, he told me all about you".

Harry shook the boys hand "well it's great to meet you, how is Oliver doing?" he asked.

"Harry, focus on doing your job!" Hermione hissed in his ear.

"Oh..uh...sorry Hermione" he said sheepishly.

He called out the rest of the rest of the names and he and Hermione led them through the doors of the Great Hall and up the staircases.

As they headed up them Hermione gave the same warning all Prefects did "be careful of the staircases. They like to change direction a lot. You need to be alert".

They eventually reached the portrait of the Fat Lady which guarded the Gryffindor common room "password?" she said.

"Nicholas Flamel" Harry said easily.

"You may enter" the Lady said as the portrait swung outwards to reveal the portrait hole.

As they entered Hermione called out "right gather round".

The First Years did so "first things first" Harry said "the portrait always requires a password to enter so make sure you remember. It changes every term. This term it's Nicholas Flamel. We'll tell you the one for next term when we've spoken to Professor McGonagall who is our Head of House".

"Don't be afraid of her by the way" Hermione added with a smile "she acts stern but she's a very kind and caring person who will help with any problem you may have".

Harry nodded in agreement with this "heads up as well that one of the Chaser positions is filled by Angelina Johnson, she's Head Girl and a Prefect and also the Captain of the team so there are only two of those positions open".

"The boys dormitories are upstairs and to the right" Hermione informed them as she gestured with her hand "and girls is the same but you have to go down the stairs".

"There is a curfew of ten pm for all students except Prefects who have to patrol the corridors. We'll be patrolling each night from ten until midnight" Harry told them all.

He then grinned "so make sure we don't catch you" he meant it as a joke but most took it seriously.

"And finally, if you ever have any questions or concerns let one of us or the older Prefects know" Hermione finished off.

"I know that was a lot to take in at once" Harry said "it was for me in my First Year, so if any of you have questions now, fire away".

A few of the new First Years did indeed have questions ranging from how to find the Great Hall and classes to what the food was like.

They managed to field all of the questions easily with the final one being from Peter Creevey as he asked "can I take the photo now Harry?".

Harry sighed "alright Peter go and get your camera". The younger boy took off up the stairs two at a time as Harry shook his head wearily.

As the other First Years decided to head up to bed Hermione said "you really do hate having so much attention don't you".

Harry nodded "I hate it Hermione. Always have".

Hermione nodded understandingly "I think I would too" she said supportively.

In no time at all Peter was back in the common room with his camera and despite his weariness Harry put on his best smile for the photo.

Once Peter had left a very welcome sighed appeared, coming into the common room from the stairs "Gin Gin!" he said in relief.

The two rushed to each other and embraced warmly, kissing passionately "it's been so hectic I've barely had chance to see you today" he said as they sat down.

He glanced at his watch and noted that it was nine pm which meant that he had an hour until he and Hermione had to go out patrolling "so how was it looking after the ickle Firsties?" Ginny asked using the term Fred and George used.

"It went well" Harry said before grimacing "except for the fact that Peter Creevey is just like his older brothers".

Ginny laughed "what, excitable you mean?" Harry nodded "yeah, far too excitable".

* * *

On the Monday which was the 4th of September the first classes of the year began.

The first new class of the year was a Transfiguration lesson with Professor McGonagall.

As Harry and the others sat down in their usual seats near the front of the class and waited.

Professor McGonagall swept into the classroom in her elegant style as always and took the register.

Once this was done she surveyed the class with stern eyes "this year is your OWL year. OWL stands for Ordinary Wizarding Levels. As a result of this your classwork and homework will be much more advanced and much more difficult I therefore ask you to listen carefully all instructions I give".

"Please turn to page three in your textbooks and read all of the information carefully over the next five pages".

Once this was done they were instructed to copy all of the information for later reference.

Professor McGonagall then said "today I shall begin to teach you about vanishing spells. Now these spells are easier to cast correct than conjuration spells but are still very difficult and require much concentration" she fixed her penetrating eyes on Ron and Neville who were both as of the previous year struggling in the class despite tuition from McGonagall herself.

Professor McGonagall placed on the desk a rather battered looking goblet and informed the class "we shall begin by attempting to vanish small inanimate objects and will move onto larger objects when I believe you are ready".

McGonagall took out her wand and instructed the students to do the same "now say the incantation with me" she cleared her throat "nice and clearly now. Evanesco".

The students all did as instructed though some mumbled or were too quiet.

Only once all of the students were saying it in a loud enough voice clearly, did the Professor declare "I believe it time to attempt the spell. Everyone form a line in front of my desk. Miss Granger you go first".

Hermione took up position and as Harry expected she confidently vanished the goblet and earned herself five points for Gryffindor in doing so.

Around half the class of Gryffindor's and Ravenclaws managed to successfully vanish the goblet with Hermione, Harry, Draco and Dean Thomas all managing it while Neville managed it partially and Lavender, Parvati, Seamus and Ron all failed to do anything.

"I want two feet of parchment on the consequences of partial vanishing to be completed by the next lesson" McGonagall informed the class as the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson.

She then turned to Harry and Hermione "Mr Potter, Miss Granger, please stay behind for a moment".

They turned to Draco, Neville and Ron and Hermione said "we'll see you in a bit, save us a seat in History of Magic".

They nodded, slung their bags over their shoulders and left the classroom "I would like to discuss with the two you an idea that has been put to me by Professor Flitwick".

Harry frowned while Hermione looked intrigued "what is it Professor?".

McGonagall smiled "it seems that Professor Flitwick thinks it would be beneficial to start a Defence Club and as the two of you are the most accomplished students in terms of duelling, he wondered if you would consent to start a club for learning Defensive magic. The club would naturally have his sponsorship and authority".

Harry was gobsmacked "but...surely there are others more qualified" he said in bafflement.

"Not according to Professor Flitwick Harry" McGonagall replied "you don't have to answer now either of you. Please give us an answer by Saturday though".

Harry and Hermione left after promising they would and discussed the proposal all the way to History of Magic.

When they reached the classroom and sat down Ron immediately asked them what McGonagall had wanted so they told him, Draco and Neville.

Their response was short and to the point "do it" they said enthusiastically.

By lunchtime Harry and Hermione had decided to agree to setting up a defence club and informed Professor McGonagall of this fact. They added the proviso that Professor Flitwick and Professor Snape being expert duellers were to attend the first few sessions in order to give support and full authority to Harry and Hermione.

McGonagall accepted this condition and informed a very happy Professor Flitwick who they promised to speak to that weekend to sort out the details.

The final lesson of the day was to be a double Defence Against The Dark Arts lesson.

The New Marauders took a place outside the classroom alongside the other Gryffindor Fifth Years.

Nearby were the Slytherin Fifth Years.

As always Nott being the prat he was could not resist a jibe "I heard you're starting a defence club Potter. Can't stop being the centre of attention eh?" he said snidely.

Harry was about to respond when, rather surprisingly, Zabini and Greengrass came towards him.

Zabini stuck out his hand as did Greengrass "Potter we'd like to join your defence club. When can we sign up?".

Harry was stunned but just managed to shake their hands and said "we haven't sorted out all the details yet but I'll meet Daphne on our rounds one night and let her know so she can tell you" Zabini nodded and guided Greengrass away.

The two of them did not go too far away, staying apart from the rest of the Slytherins as the rift continued to grow in Slytherin House.

The door to the DADA classroom opened and Harry found himself staring into the face of the man he'd beaten to the Triwizard Cup last year.

"Come in students!" Cedric 'no not Cedric...Professor Diggory' called to the students who began to file into the classroom.

As Harry passed him Professor Diggory nodded at him in acknowledgement.

Following the taking of the register and the stock speech on working hard and paying attention they were informed by the new Professor that the first topic for the term would be trolls.

Harry grinned as he recalled the experience with a troll in his first year and hoped that such experience would be useful when learning.

After being taught about trolls in general and several types of trolls they were set the homework task of explaining how to identify various trolls.

On the Tuesday after classes had finished for the day Harry was passing by a now familiar broom cupboard when he could hear crying from within.

Feeling concerned, he lingered for a moment before deciding to knock on the door.

There was no response so he turned the handle and opened it to find none other than Lucius Nott, eyes red and tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Hey there" Harry said.

He sat down next to the boy "I'm Harry Potter" he said cautiously wondering whether he should actually say his name.

The boy stopped crying and looked up "I know who you are" he said in a choked voice "you're the one who vanquished the Dark Lord. My Dad doesn't like you and neither does my brother. I do though. I think you did a great thing. Vol...Vol...the Dark Lord was an evil wizard who hurt people".

Harry was surprised to hear a Nott speaking in such a way "my brother and I argued today. I've made a friend with a Gryffindor in my year...and he doesn't like it. He shouted at me...told me I shouldn't associate with "blood traitors".

Harry was shocked that someone could be so horrible to their brother and patted Lucius on the shoulder "do you want to speak to Professor Snape about it?" Harry asked.

Lucius shook his head "no I can handle my brother. It's my fathers anger over it that's upset me".

Harry decided to take the Slytherin First Year to find Greengrass "come on" he said standing up and pulling Lucius up "I'm going to take you to Daphne" he told he younger boy pulling him out of the cupboard.

He found Daphne heading towards the dungeons "Pott...Harry" she said in slight surprise "what are you doing in the dungeons?".

Harry gestured to Lucius "I found Lucius here crying in a broom cupboard, he seemed upset. I thought you could talk to him" he explained.

Daphne's face changed at once from curious to concerned. Harry had heard from his Dad and Uncles that the Greengrasses and Nott's were related though you wouldn't know it given the one families tolerance and kindness and the other one's obsession with and use of dark magic.

she looked kindly at the younger student in question and said tenderly "come with me Lucius. We'll have a chat".

Before she led the boy away she turned to Harry and said "it was kind of you to bring him down here" she said with a smile.

Harry nodded and smiled back "it's not a problem" and turned to leave.

* * *

The rest of the week went on normally for the New Marauders as classwork became harder and homework grew in size and difficulty.

Harry's prudent nature ensured that he had got all of his homework completed on the Friday night when meant that by the first Saturday of the term he was able to concentrate on other very important matters.

The first very important matter of the day presented itself after Harry and the other New Marauders had gone for their morning run.

While he was sitting in the Great Hall with the rest of the New Marauders and was talking with his sister about her week, Angelina Johnson came striding up to Harry.

Angelina, who was now a Seventh Year, had been made Captain of the Quidditch team the previous year due to being the most respected member of the current team.

It was a sad thing that she had not had the chance the previous year to show what she was made of as Captain due to the Triwizard Tournament but Harry could tell by the look in her eyes now that she meant business "Harry, try outs are taking place in an hour at..." she looked at her watch "ten am" she then rolled her eyes "since you're planning to try out yourself to give others a fair chance you'll try out first".

Harry nodded and Angelina strode off.

"You asked to try out again?!" he heard Ginny shriek.

He turned to his girlfriend who looked furious with him "you are too bloody selfless sometimes Harry" she said.

Harry grinned "I try".

Once breakfast was finished he and the others headed back up to the tower. Harry, Ron, Draco and Ginny all grabbed their brooms.

The group then exited the castle and trudge down to the Quidditch pitch under an overcast sky.

"Ah Harry there you are" Angelina said as she saw him. She then looked behind him "Ginny" she shook Ginny's hand "trying out against your boyfriend are you?" she said with a smirk.

"That's right" Ginny stated confidently.

Harry felt a bit nervous but he knew he'd have to beat Ginny and any other opponents to the snitch.

As it turned out his performances were by now as legendary as those of Charlie Weasley Ron's older brother and as a result it was only Ginny attempting to take his place on the team.

When instructed they kicked off hard from the ground, the snitch was released and try out began.

Harry and Ginny weaved around one another, ducked, rolled, looped and pursued the snitch with ferocity.

Harry could tell that Ginny wanted a place on the House team as much as he did. He also knew that he couldn't step aside for her and even if he did she would know if he had let her get the snitch, so he tried his hardest.

It was a very close fought thing in the end with Ginny just one metre away from him.

They both reached for the snitch at the same time and Ginny's hand was almost on it. Harry sighed at what he had to do hoping Ginny wouldn't be too angry.

He slammed his body into hers putting her off balance for a few seconds and giving him enough time snatch the snitch that had been attempting to get away.

As they landed Angelina shook both of their hands and looked at their performances with approval "Harry you stay on the team" she turned to Ginny "sorry Ginny".

Ginny waved it away "he was the better player today" she said magnanimously.

Angelina nodded further approval at her professionalism and said "you'll get on the team one day though Ginny. Other than Harry I haven't seen flying that good since your brother Charlie was here".

Ginny beamed at the compliment and to Harry's surprise grabbed his hand.

The two of them went and sat down for a moment on one of the benches nearby "you aren't mad I jolted you out of the way are you?" he asked feeling worried.

Ginny kissed his cheek and chuckled "of course I'm not. A true Quidditch player does what he can to win within the laws of the game and you did. I'm disappointed I didn't get in but I'm proud of you" she said seriously.

"I love you so much Gin Gin" Harry said with a grin as they kissed.

"And I love you my brave Har Har" she replied.

Harry then had to leave her as the rest of the Quidditch try outs took place.

Harry watched as the Weasley twins Flew rings around everyone else successfully beating all bludgers away from the people they were protecting.

Once Fred and George had been reconfirmed in their team places they joined Angelina and Harry and watched as Katie and Alicia easily beat off all competition to have their places confirmed.

The final try out of the day was for the Goalkeeper position. Ron had hoped to be on the team the previous year but sadly due to the Triwizard Tournament had not had the chance to show his stuff Quidditch wise.

Harry was not surprised that his red haired friend had immediately put his name down for Quidditch trials before anyone else.

Many others tried of for the position on the team before Ron got his turn with one boy named Cormac McLaggen trying out and being barred from ever trying out again after he failed to stop several goals, lost his cool and shouted at his would be teammates who, as one, refused to play on the same team as the hot headed fool.

Harry watched and gave his friend a reassuring smile as Ron walked onto the pitch, broom in hand ready for his turn and was instructed by Angelina to ascend into the air and fly over to one of the rings.

Harry watched on in amazement as Ron blocked every single one of the goals including many supposedly impossible to block efforts.

It was clear to Harry that his best friends stubborn determination to be named goalkeeper would not let him make any mistakes.

Ron descended to the ground as his try out ended. He was called over along with the large number of other hopefuls.

The First Years were eliminated first and left without too much disappointment. The Second Years and Third Years after that.

Only one Fourth Year and only two Fifth Years had entered the try outs.

The Fourth Year missed out due to their nerves and it came down to Ron and Seamus.

"You both did very well" Angelina told them with a smile "but I'm going to have to give the position to...Ron" she announced "he just barely performed better than you Seamus, I'm sorry".

She extended a hand which Seamus accepted graciously and replied "it's fine".

The Irish boy then congratulated Ron and went over to where his best friend Dean Thomas was sitting watching the try outs.

With the team chosen the training began that very Saturday and lasted until mid afternoon which meant it was lucky that Harry and the others had all brought lunch with them.

It was only at five pm that evening that the training ended the team were allowed to leave by Angelina who informed them that she expected to see them back early the next morning for more training.

Harry knew that she was just as fanatical about wanting to win the Quidditch Cup in her final year as Oliver Wood had been.

When Harry and Ron went over to Hermione and the others who were waiting on the benches the others decided they would accompany them to speak with Professor Flitwick.

The meeting with Flitwick was very pleasant as they took tea with him and talked over many points including what spells would be covered and how to ensure student safety.

Once all topics had been fully exhausted, Harry, Hermione and the others left with Flitwick agreeing that the defence club would begin at the beginning of October thus giving them time to get everything ready.

That night Harry was reading a book on Animagus transformations when an idea hit him.

He and Hermione had been discussing nicknames for the New Marauders 'what better way of getting nicknames than to become Animagi' Harry thought to himself 'not just for the nicknames but especially for the important new abilities we could gain that would help our friends, families and Hogwarts by the use of such abilities.

When Harry put the idea to the rest of the New Marauders the next morning before heading to Quidditch practise the reaction was very predictable as Ron and Neville immediately supported the plan with gusto while Draco and Luna were more thoughtful but soon agreed it would come in useful.

Ginny added her support, sealing it with a kiss.

The only dissenter was Hermione who, as expected, was concerned about breaking the rules and not just the rules but the law "you've done it before with the Polyjuice" Draco pointed out "come on Drake that was different and you know it".

"How so?" Draco inquired.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and glared "because it was only school rules not Ministry laws!".

"But Mione just think of how much more we'll be able to do with these abilities" Harry said trying hard to convince her "we will be able to defend ourselves much more with having a skill that no one else knows about".

Eventually Hermione was talked round and asked tentatively "so...what's our next step?".

Harry sucked in a breath and answered "the first thing we need to do is read this book" he slammed the book down "from cover to cover to make sure we are not missing anything" he told them all "and once that's done we need to perform a spell to find out our Animagus forms".

"When do we start?" Ron asked sounding excited.

"Right away if everyone agrees" Harry said.

He received variations on "agreed" from everyone else and felt excitement at this new adventure.

* * *

Authors Note: Well everybody, the first chapter of Fifth Year is finished.

When the next chapter starts we will be in October and will see the formation of the defence club, the reveal of the New Marauders Animagus forms Harry feeling overwhelmed.


	39. Chapter 39

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the sole owner of Harry Potter & all it's characters.

* * *

Chapter Thirty Nine: Birthday Party, Animagus Form & Defence Club

Early-Autumn gave way to mid-Autumn as September became October.

By the 1st of October Harry and the rest of the New Marauders had finished reading all of the books necessary for an Animagus transformation and were now ready to find out their Animagus forms.

It was for this reason that they were, at this very moment, lounging around on plush sofas in the Room of Requirement as they prepared to find out what their exact form would be.

The first one to step up, use the incantation and stare into the mirror was Luna who blinked owlishly at the results of the spell which showed that her form was, appropriately enough, an owl which made sense given her wisdom.

"You'll be able to get messages to our friends easily" Harry commented in approval at her Animagus.

Luna smiled serenely and replied "why thank you dear Harry". She then walked off to the sofa on which Draco sat, kissed him and pushed him to his feet.

Draco approached the mirror and copied Luna's steps to the last detail.

He stared at his form which surprised him but which he thought and felt would be very useful. His form was a snake.

"Fantastic" Draco breathed in awe at the form knowing that he would be able to get into smaller spaces and take down enemies before they could see him.

One by the one the others stepped up with Hermione's form being a cat, lithe and quick. Abilities that would be helpful in distracting opponents, Neville's form, in keeping with his tough personality, was a wolf, strong and loyal.

Ron's form was very appropriately for a Gryffindor, a lion.

Harry was next to step up, cleared his throat and cast the spell. He grinned the widest grin of his life yet as he stared at the image in the mirror. He saw the animal he most wanted his form to be...a stag.

The stag stared back at him, coat shining and antlers perched proudly atop his head. Unconsciously, Harry brushed a hand over his hair where the antlers would be.

When Harry stepped back, Ginny asked "what did you see Harry?" having obviously seen his large grin "my forms a stag" he said happily.

Ginny beamed at him seeming just as happy as he was. She then stepped up to the mirror as the last New Marauder and cast her spell to discover her form.

Harry stepped up behind her and stared at his girlfriends form in absolute wonder.

He found himself staring at a doe with a shiny brown coat and bright brown eyes.

As Ginny turned round he found himself looking into her beautiful brown eyes as she smiled.

Her Animagus form was the final confirmation as if it had been really needed that Ginny loved and trusted him with all her heart as he did with her "my doe" he breathed, feeling so in love with her.

They embraced happily and stayed like it for a long time as they enjoyed the warmth of each others skin.

* * *

The first week of October had passed by very quickly for Harry, so busy was he with Quidditch practise which was now happening every evening, homework and classwork as well as his Prefect duties, he'd had no time at all to visit Hagrid but now, on an overcast October Saturday, following Quidditch practise, the New Marauders all headed down to Hagrids cabin for a very welcome cup of tea.

"Come on in!" Hagrid said in his usual cheerful manner as they entered the warm cabin, "sit down, sit down" he said as he began bustling round the kitchen.

He placed a copper kettle full of water onto a stove and waited for it to boil, when the kettle was whistling he removed it and placed the water inside a tea pot which he carried over to the table on a tray alongside milk, sugar and spoons plus enough cups eight people.

As they began to help themselves to milk and sugar and take sips of the warm liquid Hagrid remarked "can't wait for this defence club you two have set up Ermione, Harry".

Both of them grinned "so you're coming then?" Harry asked.

Harry beamed "wouldn't miss it fer the world" he replied jovially.

The conversation turned to the Quidditch league and the various positioning's of their favourite teams.

"The Chudley Cannons are due for a revival soon I'm telling you!" Ron insisted fiercely as everyone laughed at this and Neville said "c'mon Ron, they're awful, they've drawn one match this year and lost every other one".

"I just can't believe what's happened to the Wimbourne Wasps" Hagrid said.

Harry knew to what he was referring, their favourite Quidditch team the Wimbourne Wasps were not doing much better than the Chudley Cannons at this point.

"It's losing Tanner their star Seeker that's done it" Harry said voicing his opinion "they were winning games left right and centre and then he picks up an injury and they haven't won a game since".

"That replacement aint no use I tell you" Hagrid declared in agreement.

The conversation changed again as Hermione asked Hagrid "what are we going to learn about next term Hagrid?".

To her disappoint and that of the others, their large friend kept his mouth shut saying only that it was a surprise and hopefully a good one.

Following their tea with Hagrid they headed back up to the castle for lunch.

They hadn't planned on coming across Nott and his two goons Crabbe and Goyle.

If they had been merely talking he wouldn't have minded but instead of talking they were shouting at Nott's younger brother Lucius and Harry even saw Nott hit Lucius.

Nott whipped out his wand and began throwing spells at his brother. Harry felt furious, he knew something needed to be done to help Lucius lest he continue being bullied and possibly forced to become a dark wizard.

At a hand signal from Harry the New Marauders left their positions and advanced, wands raised, on Nott and his two goons "lay off him Nott" Harry said firmly.

Hermione added "you're supposed to be his brother!".

"Shut your mouth you filthy little Mudblood" Nott said, his voice dripping with venom.

Harry and the others advanced on him only for Lucius to gain his courage at having some support. The younger boy limped up to his brother and Harry could see he was hurt.

Despite Lucius' pain though he wound back his fist and punched Nott as hard as he could on the nose. There was a sickening crack and blood sprayed out and down onto Nott's clothes.

"Why you..." Nott began as he advanced on Lucius' his wand drawn, a furious expression on his face.

"What is going on here?!" came the sharp voice of Professor Snape as he pushed past Crabbe and Goyle to view the scene presented to him, the New Marauders standing nearby, wands raised, Nott with Blood streaming from his nose and his younger brother Lucius glaring at him in fury.

The Professor strode over to Lucius and asked "are you alright my boy?".

To the astonishment of the others Lucius brave exterior crumbled and he shook his head tearfully.

Everyone was dragged up to Professor Dumbledore's Office as the events of the that afternoon were recounted and Lucius revealed the horrific bullying and physical violence exacted on him by his older brother, at Hogwarts when no on was watching but most disturbingly of all, at their home and with encouragement from Patroclus Nott.

After Lucius mind and those of Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and the other New Marauders plus Professor Snape had been examined it was declared that Lucius couldn't stay Nott and not only would he need to be resorted but he needed to be removed from such a harmful environment as the Nott family created.

It was to this end that Lucius was placed with the only other family he had left the Greengrasses who were named his guardians.

That night there was a resorting of Lucius in the Great Hall.

Harry wondered where he'd end up and knew it was unlikely it would still be Slytherin.

He knew that Lucius was very smart so perhaps he'd end up in Ravenclaw.

Everyone was assembled for the sorting and Lucius was just about to put the sorting hat on his head when the doors to the Great Hall banged open and an overweight man with a balding head, strode into the room, down the central aisle and towards the stool on which Lucius was sat.

"I demand this travesty be stopped at once!" Mr Nott said angrily "he is my son and a Slytherin!".

"And was he your son when you allowed your older son to beat him mercilessly?" Professor McGonagall demanded in cold rage.

"You stay out of this you old bat!" Mr Nott said furiously.

Professor Snape stepped forward "you have no right to young Lucius anymore Patroclus" he said calmly "he's been placed with a family who will love and care for him no matter what house he ends up in".

"I...this...I never signed any papers!" Mr Nott blustered in disbelief.

"No you didn't but your wife did" Professor Dumbledore explained as he stepped forward "she informed Professor Snape here that she couldn't do much for Lucius but she could do this and so she signed for both of you".

"Nooooo!" Mr Nott bellowed.

He whipped out his wand, fully prepared to use it, only to have the wands of every single Professor pointing at him ready to curse him into the next century if he made a move.

"This is not over!" Mr Nott yelled "I will make you all regret this day!" he snarled as he turned on his heel and stormed from the hall.

All attention turned to Lucius who was clearly very shaken by the loud voices and threats of violence. He was calmed down eventually by his cousin Daphne and by her boyfriend Blaise Zabini.

"The sorting may now proceed" Professor Dumbledore declared as Lucius shakily placed the hat on his head.

The hat seemed to take much time to ponder things. He must have evidently seen many qualities in Lucius to make him a potential asset to each of the four Houses. After a full minute of deliberation the hat cried "Gryffindor!".

Harry could see that Lucius' cousin Daphne was a bit disappointed but she brushed it aside as she hugged he cousin warmly and guided him over to his new house mates.

The person she guided him to was Harry and she asked "can you and the rest of your friends watch out for him and make sure he makes friends?".

Harry smiled at her "I'd be glad to help" he said as Lucius sat down not far away.

Daphne smiled at him "thank you Harry, I appreciate it" Lucius' cousin turned to him, "I'll see you around the castle and don't forget you can come to me for questions or help or just to hang out" she said kindly.

Lucius hugged her, she kissed him on the forehead and said "you'll do well here".

She then walked away.

* * *

Following the chaos of that Sunday night and the resorting of Lucius' into Gryffindor House Harry, his siblings and friends all worked hard to get the boy accepted by not just his fellow First Years but also by the older students.

It took a week but by the second weekend of October they had all come to accept Lucius as one of them, especially after he stood up to Crabbe and Goyle who were picking on his fellow Gryffindor First Years, those First Years subsequently became his friends.

It was now late on Saturday afternoon.

The day seemed to have flown by with Harry's daily exercise and Quidditch pracise.

The Great Hall, where the defence club which they had decided on calling the Hogwarts Defence Association or HDA, had been cleared of all tables and anything else that might get in the way and Professors Flitwick the sponsor of the club, Snape an eager helper and Professor McGonagall were all busy at that point making the walls and floor of the Great Hall safe for the club to take place.

The time approached for the start of the club. It was eight pm "I bet no one's coming" Harry said pessimistically.

Hermione patted his shoulder while the others made varying reassuring statements.

Ron and Neville pulled the doors of the Great Hall opened. In came surge of students. There must have been a hundred of them there.

Harry noted that every single one of the Gryffindor's were there as were a vast majority of Hufflepuff's and just over half of Ravenclaw House.

He was part disappointed and part relieved when he saw that of Slytherin House only Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass were attending.

He could guess that the rest of the Slytherins had either stayed away because they agreed with Nott's views or because they were afraid of Nott and his goons.

'No matter' thought Harry happily 'I've still drawn a sizeable crowd and who knows? we may get it even larger for next time'.

Harry stepped up onto the stage and was joined by the other New Marauders and Professors Flitwick, Snape and McGonagall.

He was feeling very nervous.

He was confident when it came to his friends and family and in small groups of others but he hated having to speak in front of large crowds. He began to speak haltingly "um...h...hello everyone" he said in his normal voice.

The throng of voices was so loud that he felt certain they couldn't have heard him speak "excuse me everybody" he said louder and then almost shouted "excuse me!".

They kept talking until Professor Snape tapped his wand with his finger, muttered "Sonorous" and shouted as loud as possible "stop talking!".

The Great Hall fell silent as Professor Snape deactivated the spell and showed Harry how to activate it on his wand as Harry had learned it but not used it beyond practise.

"Hello everyone" Harry's voice boomed out loud and clear across the Great Hall "welcome to the first meeting of the Hogwarts Defence Association or HDA. We'll be meeting here every Saturday night throughout the school year to learn and practise defensive spells to be able to fight off any enemies we may encounter".

He yielded the floor to Hermione for a moment who added "there are many dark creatures as well as witches and wizards out there and the goal of this club is to make sure you are better able to defend yourselves against them" this statement was applauded loudly.

"I must caution you that these spells are not to be used on your fellow students and if we hear or see any of you doing so you will be expelled from this Defence Association" Harry warned them all seriously "I can also reveal that from time to time this year special guests will attend our meetings to teach more advanced spells as well as give lectures on what spells work best against different types of creatures and dark wizards and witches".

The statement of special guests caused a loud roar of approval from those assembled.

Once all of the information was out of the way Harry informed them "the first piece of defensive magic we are going to work on is called the Patronus charm" he began to stride up and down the stage gaining in confidence as he spoke "it is a very useful piece of magic that can cause chaos for dark wizards and witches and drive off what is probably the most foul being on earth, the Dementor".

Many people shuddered at the word Dementor. Harry was not surprised by this as only a fool would not be afraid of such creatures who did not distinguish between their target and those who got in their way "the Dementor as many of you already know is without pity, without mercy and will take your soul if you have no way of fighting back".

"Well...I think that went very well" Draco remarked as the New Marauders sipped hot chocolate before the fire in the Gryffindor common room.

Technically of course, Luna was supposed to sleep in Ravenclaw Tower but in practise with all of her friends being Gryffindor's she much preferred to stay there and had actually been given a bedroom all of her own just off the common room.

"Yes it did" Hermione declared happily "a great success for the first meeting".

"I'm amazed so many managed the beginnings of a Patronus already" Harry commented after taking a sip of his drink.

That night Harry went to bed feeling contented.

His dreams however were anything but happy ones as one particular dream forced it's way into his mind.

It was the same dream that had been plaguing him for months.

The dream set in the old graveyard in which Mundungus Fletcher and an unknown man wearing a hood, resurrected Voldemort.

* * *

The month of October moved along and soon it was at the mid-way point of the month and time for a certain bookworms birthday.

Harry, Draco, Neville, Luna and Ginny had been hard at work since that morning preparing for Hermione's birthday party and had assigned Ron, her boyfriend, the task of keeping her preoccupied for long enough that the preparations could be completed.

Harry and Draco's sister Molly had brought along her two friends Alexandra Bolton and Caroline Farmer who both got stuck in with gusto in blowing up balloons and stacking the presents.

Harry had informed his Parents of the party and they were coming to it as were Remus, Sirius and Janice and they were bringing the Grangers with them.

Disappointingly, Harry had been told that Peter and Celia couldn't make it as the twins were both poorly and their Parents were nursing them back to health.

They had just finished decorating and assembling everything for the party when the birthday girl could be seen in the distance being guided over the grounds by Ron.

In order to keep everything a complete secret from Hermione it was decided that she would wear a blindfold.

The couple soon reached the front steps of Hagrids cabin.

Hermione's blindfold was taken off and all of the guests shouted surprise and several blew party horn while others threw streamers about.

The whole area around Hagrids cabin was covered in a very large marquee which had been erected to hold the off the rain that was threatening to pour down at any moment.

There were many tables containing virtually every type of food imaginable and to Harry's mind the House Elves and those helping them had truly outdone themselves as there were cold meats, potatoes of every kind, chips, cheeses, bowls of crisps, pies, cupcakes and cream cakes, meringues and jellies.

There were pitchers of pumpkin juice, orange juice, butter beer and almost every other drink you could care to name.

In the centre of the the middle table stood the most important food item of the event, a humongous birthday cake, multi layered with caramel, chocolate and vanilla fillings all Hermione's favourites and topped off with chocolate and caramel frosting.

In a corner of the marquee, sitting neatly stacked, were all of Hermione's presents, each one was finely wrapped and just waiting to be opened.

As the party began the birthday girl received numerous cards and birthday greetings from everyone present.

Professor Snape stopped by to wish her a happy birthday, give her a card and a book on rare potions. He had just enough time to be given a slice of birthday cake before needing to return to his work.

Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore stayed longer and enjoyed watching the birthday girl open her presents as well as enjoyed sampling the various foods.

There was much laughter and dancing as the afternoon and evening went on and it was only at nine pm that the party wound up in order to give Harry and the birthday girl, who insisted on performing her Prefect duties, the chance to get changed back into their school robes and complete some homework before heading off on duty.

* * *

The month went along quite quickly for the New Marauders, so consumed were they with their various clubs, organisations, duties and homework and of course for Harry and Ron they were both on the Quidditch team which meant practising a lot with their team mates and being forced to listen to many lectures from Angelina.

For Harry the various duties did overwhelm him sometimes. Being on the Quidditch team, a Prefect, heading up the HDA and somehow trying to find time to do his homework was taking it's toll on him.

He often didn't go to bed until at least two in the morning and was usually up a seven in order to continue his morning routine of jogging several laps through the castle grounds before breakfast.

Several times that month he had fallen asleep at his desk.

It was a good thing that it was usually one of the New Marauders or other fellow Gryffindor who spotted him and were thus able to wake him before points could be taken.

To accompany all of this he was also having nightmares...a lot!.

Most nights now he would have nightmares about the graveyard or Voldemort committing some attrocity or Mundungus Fletcher, it never seemed to let up at all and he had taken dreamless sleep potion a few times to cope with it.

The upsides of things though tended to override the bad points as he was doing what he loved both in Quidditch and in teaching people defence.

The time was now the 31st of October. Halloween.

Halloween had never been a day Harry enjoyed. In fact...it was a day he heartily disliked. Not for the day itself but merely for what it represented.

Because for Harry James Potter, Halloween represented the night when his birth Mother was killed trying to save his life, when he became famous without any say in the matter and because he had a connection to Voldemort through the dark wizards legendary attempt to kill him fifteen years ago that very night.

That morning Harry woke up, he did his laps around the grounds as usual along with other keep fit exercises.

He had breakfast in the Great Hall but found that he could not face more than a piece of toast before he felt queasy.

His siblings Draco and Molly and the rest of New Marauders were all giving him sympathetic looks and his girlfriend Ginny took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

He stumbled through a boring History of Magic lesson not paying any attention to what boring Professor Binns was droning on about.

He only just made it through Potions without blowing up his cauldron, an action that usually would cause Professor Snape as calm and helpful as he was, to get very annoyed with whatever student had done so.

Today however Harry could dimly tell that the Professor was as muted as he was and Harry knew it was for the loss of a woman he considered his best friend. A woman he'd loved who'd not reciprocated and who had died before the Professor had had a chance to tell her.

When the double period ended and everyone else filed out of the classroom heading for lunch, Harry hung back as he got the sense that Professor Snape his virtual Uncle wanted to say something to him.

He sat on a desk near the front and his Uncle Severus seemed to be gathering his thoughts. Eventually, he said "obviously you will be paying your respects to Lily today".

Harry nodded solemnly "as we do every year".

Severus nodded "yes" he seemed upset about something "I can't make it today".

Harry frowned "why not?".

Severus sighed "there is a task that Professor Dumbledore wishes me to do and I must complete it as soon as possible".

Harry frowned in confusion "but what could be...".

"The Dark Lord" Severus said swallowing heavily "it is in connection with him but I am forbidden to speak of it unless the Headmaster wills it to be otherwise".

Harry nodded in understanding. Breaking the trust of Professor Dumbledore wasn't a thing anyone did if they could help it. Not because he'd shout or get angry but because he'd calmly state how hurt he was and letting him down felt worse than almost anything "I'll see you tomorrow then Uncle Sev" Harry said, giving his Uncle a hug which was returned warmly.

Professor Snape then headed over to his desk and removed a bunch of flowers "I was wondering...hoping...could...".

"Yes" Harry said, understanding at once "I'll put them on her grave for you".

Professor Snape smiled at him and said "thank you", it seemed to be all he could say and Harry knew that the man wished to be alone so he said goodbye and exited the classroom to head to lunch.

The rest of the day went swiftly by and soon it was four forty pm. Classes had finished just ten minutes ago and Harry had rushed up to the Headmasters Office without bothering to change.

When he arrived he found his Dad, James having a cup of tea and chatting to Headmaster Dumbledore "Dad" he said emotionally when he saw him already waiting.

James crossed the room in a few quick strides and gathered his son into a tight hug which he held for many minutes.

When he ended the hug, he and Harry said goodbye to the Headmaster and flooed to the Godric's Hollow church.

They were greeted warmly by the new Vicar of the church was a squib.

They then headed out of the church, through a gate and into the Godric's Hollow churchyard in which the grave of Lily Potter lay.

They spent the next two hours tidying her grave sit up, placing flowers on it and talking to her, telling her about everything that had happened in the past year, how much they missed her and how much they wished she was with them.

Many tears were shed but James also told his son of the good times that had been had and some stories involving his Parents had him doubled over in fits of laughter.

The two of them had got up and were walking side by side along the path to the exit to the churchyard when Harry noticed something he'd never seen before. Admittedly he had probably missed it as he payed not much attention to anything when he was here.

"Hey Dad come and have a look at this gravestone" Harry urged.

James did so, stepping up beside his son to read it "Ariana Dumbledore 1885-1899, died aged 14, beloved sister of Albus Percival Brian Wulfric Dumbledore and Aberforth Dumbledore, beloved daughter of Percival and Kendra Dumbledore, sorely missed".

James and Harry both stared at the gravestone in stunned silence for several minutes before James declared "I never knew he...I never knew".

"I don't think anyone did Dad" Harry replied.

"I wonder why he never told anyone" James mused ponderously.

"It was probably too painful for him to talk about" Harry said wisely.

Harry decided that he would ask the Headmaster about it when they returned to Hogwarts.

When they flooed back both were much more subdued and Harry had informed his Dad of his plan to ask Dumbledore about the gravestone.

James had cautioned his son that it might not be a good idea to bring the subject up.

"Ah Harry. James, back from Godric's Hollow. Never gets any easier does it?" Dumbledore said solemnly.

"Did you have a sister?" Harry found himself blurting out.

The old wizard stared at him in astonishment "how did you know that?" he asked calmly.

Harry and James explained the gravestone they'd found in the Godric's Hollow churchyard.

By the time they'd finished the old wizard was nodding "yes. That is the grave of my sister Ariana".

"Why did..." Harry began.

"Why did she die so young?" Dumbledore finished.

Harry nodded.

Dumbledore sighed "this is a story I have told few people in my long life but since you already know I had a sister and since I feel I can trust the both of you I will explain everything including showing some memories of the events leading up to it. The memories I show will not be pleasant I fear so if you wish, we will not proceed".

Harry and his Dad looked at each other, then back at Dumbledore and both said "we're ready Headmaster".

Dumbledore looked at the father and son over his half moon spectacles and realised they were being genuine "very well" he said seriously and began to explain all.

The explanations went on for a very long time as Dumbledore informed them of what had happened to his sister at the hands of some Muggle boys and what his father had done in retaliation, of his families moving to a house in Godric's Hollow to live, of his meeting with and becoming friends with Gellert Grindelwald, of Dumbledore's former prejudice against Muggles on account of what had happened to his sister and father and finally the tragic three way duel between himself, his brother Aberforth and Grindelwald while his sister Ariana looked on helplessly.

"She got caught in the crossfire of the spells" Dumbledore explained as tears rolled down his wrinkled cheeks "she was hit by an extremely dangerous spell which killed her".

Dumbledore tried to hold back the tears but his emotions which he had so well kept in check all those years were coming to the surface, like a pot boiling over "to this day I don't know which one of us was responsible. In a way I suppose...we all were, but it's mainly my fault I believe".

He explained further how he broke with Grindelwald following this and how the dark wizard left Godric's Hollow never to return "I loved him you know" Dumbledore explained "I think he was probably my only love, nothing ever came of it but that love caused me to delay duelling him for so long. I just couldn't do it. But he got more and more powerful, he took over the German Ministry of Magic and helped a dictator named Adolf Hitler rise to power and conquer much a Europe. I finally knew I had to face him and so I did".

"In 1945" Harry said automatically.

The old wizard nodded "that's right. The famous duel between myself and Grindelwald. Well in any case, I defeated him and he has since been imprisoned in his own fortress isolated from anyone except a jailor who brings him food occasionally".

Dumbledore patted the wand that sat on his desk "that's how I got this wand" Dumbledore cast the silencing spell on the doors to the corridor "I must ask the pair of you to tell nobody what I am about to reveal".

Harry and James both swore that they would not reveal it until Dumbledore wished it to be so and the Headmaster told them the truth about the wand "this wand is no ordinary wand you see. This...is the wand I took from Gellert Grindelwald when I defeated him all those decades ago".

Dumbledore patted it again "it had great power for you see...it's the elder wand".

This proclamation floored both Harry and his Dad who sat in their seats staring at the wand and then at Dumbledore and then back at the wand as if unable to believe it "you see my original wand was a wreck after that particular duel and I needed a new one, I had no idea what it was until Grindelwald told me".

"But...I thought it was lost" croaked James in shock.

Dumbledore smiled "that is what most wizards and witches believe to be the case and it is why I swore the two of you to secrecy on the matter. It is vital that no one else knows about it in order to keep it from falling into dark hands".

Harry and his father both agreed that it's whereabouts should be hidden.

James then hugged his son goodbye and flooed back to Marauder Manor while Harry left the Headmasters Office and went to the Great Hall for dinner.

All through dinner he pondered on all of the new information he'd been given and felt privileged to have been confided in by a man he greatly respected.

Throughout the rest of that night during the Halloween feast, when he was doing his homework and when he and Hermione were on patrol Harry was asked what had kept him so long in Dumbledore's Office but all he told those that asked was that it was private to Dumbledore and he had promised not to say anything unless the Headmaster allowed him to.

* * *

That night as most of the castle slept a certain Hogwarts Professor had nearly finished his long and painstaking search of the Room of Requirement.

In it's current form it contained centuries worth of rubbish and of items hidden by students that they had planned to come back for and never did or wished to dispose of for all time.

Severus's frustration grew minute by minute as each cabinet searched, each sofa cleared out and each pile of objects sifted through seemed to bring him no closer to the object he was seeking. The object that he had been tasked with finding.

"I missed going to Lily's grave for this" he muttered to himself disgustedly.

He had just decided to call it a night and leave the room when he knocked over a large stack of objects.

He swore irritably as the objects now blocked his path.

He began to moved the various objects out of the way.

It was then that he saw it, still gleaming as brightly as had been rumoured all those centuries ago when it had been lost.

The Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw.

There was no mistaking it, the object clearly matched all descriptions of it and when Severus touched it he felt a chill creep up his spine that had nothing to do with the temperature in the room.

He saw flashes of Voldemort's life. His memories. "This has to be it" he said feeling much happier than a few moments earlier.

He took out a towel from his robes, wrapped the diadem carefully inside it and stepped over the remaining junk piles, towards the door.

Once he was out of the room he ran fast but carefully through the various corridors and down staircases until he reached the two stone gargoyles that resolutely guarded the entrance to the Headmasters living quarters.

"Chocolate frog" he panted in slight amusement at the Headmasters fascination with sweets and chocolate.

No sooner had the two gargoyles sprung aside than he was standing on the winding spiral staircase as it ascended upwards to the Headmasters Office.

He soon found himself in the corridor leading up to the office but was struck by an awkward thought. He gazed at his watch "two am" he murmured.

And for a while he stood, thinking, attempting to decide what his next move should be.

He knew that his discovery was of vital importance as it confirmed the theory that the Headmaster had had.

He also felt that he had no wish to wake up the old wizard, depriving him of sleep.

In the end Severus made the decision that the discovery was far more important than some lost sleep and he marched towards the office.

When the doors opened by themselves he sighed in relief for the doors to the office only opened in such a way when the Headmaster was both in his office **and **willing to receive visitors.

As he strode into the office he saw the Headmaster sitting behind his desk wearing a bright orange dressing down.

"Ah Severus. I could detect your approach" Dumbledore said amiably. He reached for a dish containing lemon sherbets his favourite sweet "would you care for one Severus?" he asked as his Potions master approached the large desk.

"No thank you Headmaster" Severus declined politely.

"I assume your visit must be of vital importance to come at such a late hour" the Headmaster said.

Severus nodded "it is Headmaster" he replied seriously as he placed on the desk the blue towel in which he'd wrapped the Diadem.

Carefully, he unwrapped the object and watched as Dumbledore's eyes became wide in awe "the lost Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw" the old wizard whispered reverently.

He looked up at Severus, pride shining in his bright blue eyes "I have to admit I wasn't sure you'd be able to find it Severus. It's been lost for so long that most believe it to be merely a myth. Even Filius does not believe in it's existence".

Severus shrugged and grinned "it was an accident more than anything" he replied, though he was happy at the compliment.

"Accident or not, this is a very important discovery" Dumbledore said.

He looked into Severus' eyes "what happened when you touched it?" he asked inquiringly.

Severus shuddered "I saw flashes of the Dark Lords memory, from the time he was here at Hogwarts. I saw...I saw...".

He couldn't bring himself to say it and was surprised when Dumbledore said it instead "you saw him kill someone and not just a regular killing".

Severus nodded unable to speak of it.

Dumbledore stared down at the object "Severus, you have just found Voldemort's..." Severus flinched "second Horcrux and have given us a big advantage if Voldemort..." Severus flinched again "returns" the old wizard finished "you are a hero Severus" the old man said as his eyes sparkled.

"Now lets now go using that word too freely Headmaster" Severus said sensibly "all I have done is found you a Horcrux. We still don't know how to destroy it".

Dumbledore smiled mysteriously "that's where you are wrong Severus but I shall not speak further of this tonight. Please bring yourself and young Harry up to my office tomorrow. It's time he knew about these Horcruxes and about...".

"About how he might be one" Severus said sadly "I agree. He must be told".

* * *

So, how did everyone like this chapter?. Please let me know and thanks for your continued support with special thanks to fhl1234 for her consistent reviews.


	40. Chapter 40

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything to do with Harry Potter & all the characters except my original ones.

* * *

Authors Note: So Severus and Dumbledore have found a Horcrux and are now planning to tell Harry. How will he take it all?.

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Chapter Forty: Horcruxes, Heartache & Molly's Birthday

The 1st of November began much as any other school day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry got up early as usual and jogged round the grounds with the other New Marauders before showering and putting on a fresh change of school robes.

He and the New Marauders strolled down to the Great Hall and took their usual places at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.

They were chatting away happily about Quidditch and the Defence Association amongst other topics when Professor McGonagall approached the Gryffindor table and paused next to Harry.

She cleared her throat causing many of the Gryffindor's to turn their attention to her "Mr Potter, Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak to you this evening after classes finish, I shall be accompanying you".

Harry heard the words and wondered why the Headmaster would wish to speak with him again so soon and why Professor McGonagall would be there as well.

He couldn't imagine it was to do with what he and his father had been told the previous night so he could only surmise that it was either something to do with his family or to do with Voldemort.

To his mind, the latter reason was more likely than the former as he was sure that if it had to do with his family, Dumbledore would want to see and speak to Draco and Molly as well.

'So...something to do with Voldemort. But what could it be?' he pondered.

He pondered the reasons for the meeting all through that days lessons.

Thankfully, the last lesson of the day was Transfiguration which meant he only had to stay behind as everyone else left.

"Do you want some help Professor?" Harry asked as his Head of House began to tidy up after that days lesson.

McGonagall turned to him and smiled ever so slightly "thank you Harry, it would be most welcome".

Between the two of them they managed to get the classroom tidied up and all learning materials packed away.

Once this was done they exited the classroom with Professor McGonagall locking it behind them and they began their long walk down the corridor, through the inner courtyard and on until they reached the Entrance Hall in the main section of the castle.

They carried on walking up staircases and along corridors until they reached the entrance to Dumbledore's Office which was, that day, located on the Fourth Floor.

Professor McGonagall gave the password for that week which was "chocolate frog", the gargoyles leapt aside and student and Professor stepped onto the staircase and stayed still.

As the staircase began to ascend, Harry voiced the question that had been on his mind ever since breakfast "Professor, what's this meeting about?" he asked in curiosity.

Professor McGonagall looked at Harry. Her stern look unusually absent now "all I can say is that the Headmaster has something important to tell you...Pott...Harry".

Harry was surprised and a little bit alarmed at his Head of Houses use of his first name which only ever happened rarely and only when something serious had happened or was about to happen.

'What on earth could be so important as to involve me?'. After some quick thinking he came up with three possibilities. The first possibility was that someone on at Marauder Manor were hurt, dead or seriously ill.

Harry almost immediately dismissed this idea as if it had been the case then Draco and Molly as his siblings would have been brought to Dumbledore as well.

The second possibility was that it was something to do with Voldemort. Perhaps part of the Prophecy or some other issue.

The third and final possibility was that he had broken Hogwarts rules somehow, though he couldn't think of any way in which he could have actually broken the rules this year as the New Marauders had not pulled any pranks and he hadn't been out of Gryffindor Tower after curfew except for patrolling the corridors on Prefect duty.

Harry and McGonagall reached the doors of the Headmasters Office which were already opening to reveal Dumbledore himself sitting in his usual seat behind his desk.

Harry's Uncle Severus was standing next to the old wizard and looked very serious as did the Headmaster himself who, Harry noticed, did not have the usual twinkle in his blue eyes.

Instead the eyes that were focused on Harry were solemn but determined as if Dumbledore did not want to say what he was about to but had no real choice.

As Harry got closer to the desk with Professor McGonagall just behind him he could see three objects on the desk in front of Professor Dumbledore.

The first two items he recognised instantly as the sword of Gryffindor which had been brought to him by Fawkes the Phoenix down in the Chamber of Secrets three years earlier. The second item of course, distinguished by a large hole in it's centre, was Tom Riddles diary.

The same diary that had convinced the foolish Lockhart to help Tom Riddle and lost the man his life. The same diary that he had stabbed with a Basilisk fang in order to destroy the sixteen year old Riddle trapped within it's pages.

The third item he'd never seen before and had no idea what it was save for the fact that it was bright silver and had several patterns woven into it.

Other than that he could not tell what it was.

He also had no clue as to why the sword and diary were on Dumbledore's desk.

'I wonder if it's connected with why Dumbledore wanted to see me?' Harry thought.

"Harry. So good of you to join us this evening" the Headmaster began warmly.

"Hello Headmaster, Professor Snape" he nodded at both men as a mark of respect.

A mark which they acknowledged by nodding back to him.

"Do you know why you were brought here Harry?" Dumbledore asked him.

Harry shook his head "no Sir" he replied.

Dumbledore stood up and moved round his desk "before I explain why these objects are here and what..." he pointed to the mysterious object on the desk "this silver item is, I ask that you join me in viewing a large number of memories" the old wizard gazed at Harry over his half moon spectacles "these memories are the memories of meetings I have had with Voldemort Harry. They answer many questions I dare say you've had. There are several things you will learn within the memories that will no doubt surprise you and most likely shock you, but I ask that you say nothing to anyone unless you trust implicitly they will not talk. Do you understand?".

Harry found himself nodding and saying "yes I do Sir" despite having no understanding of what he was about to be shown or why it would need to be secret.

He walked over to the pensieve which he now noticed was already out and waiting to be used.

As he stared into the water he could hear rustling from nearby and turned to see Professor Dumbledore searching various shelves full of vials of silvery white liquid that he knew to be memory.

Dumbledore must have soon found the first memory he needed as went to Harry's side, uncorked the vial and poured it's contents into the swirling waters of the pensieve.

The waters swirled faster and the memory fragments swirled with it.

A picture soon presented itself. Harry glanced at Dumbledore who nodded and took his arm.

The two of them leaned forward and found themselves subjected to the familiar falling feeling until they hit solid ground.

Harry gazed round and found they were on a cobblestone street.

Cars drove past. Not new cars but old cars. Very old. Harry was very knowledgeable about Muggle history thanks to his Aunts and his Uncles Remus and Peter who were half-blood and all very knowledgeable when it came to various aspects of history.

He thus surmised that this was the 1930s though he could not say with certainty what year it was.

Harry turned to Dumbledore who stood next to him.

The old wizard supplied "the year in this memory is 1936".

Harry nodded "it's the first time I ever met Tom Riddle".

Harry was surprised by this as he stared ahead at a sign in the distance.

He and Dumbledore strode along behind a younger version of the Headmaster who was, Harry saw, wearing a black and white striped suit and polished smart black shoes which shone.

In such a state he looked nothing like a Muggles idea of a wizard which, Harry supposed, was just the effect he had been going for.

"That was the best suit I had at the time" Dumbledore remarked casually as the followed along.

They drew level with a set of wrought iron gates and Harry saw, in disbelief, that it was an orphanage.

"Voldemort grew up in an orphanage?" Harry said incredulously, unable to believe it.

Dumbledore nodded "and not just any orphanage. A Muggle one. As you'll see in a minute, they had no concept of what they were dealing with".

The two wizards followed the younger Dumbledore in through the gates, up the steps to the front door of the orphanage and waited with the younger Dumbledore who had rung the bell.

A young woman with short blonde hair appeared "what is your business here?" she asked politely.

The younger Dumbledore smiled at her "good afternoon my dear. I have an appointment with the Matron of this orphanage, she is due to take me to meet a Tom Riddle" he said.

Harry noted that the young woman looked upset at the mention of the name Tom Riddle "so even back in this time he had a reputation" Harry commented.

They followed on as the younger Dumbledore was ushered inside and the doors closed behind him.

In a moment the Matron, a plump middle aged woman with a lined face and greying hair, was standing front of them.

She looked kind but seemed to take in a deep breath when Dumbledore confirmed he was meeting Tom Riddle.

Harry blocked out most of the conversation as he and the Headmaster followed the other two up the stairs, but he did catch one interesting snippet of information "Tom is...he's not...he's not normal" the Matron said desperately as they stopped outside what was probably Vol...no Riddle's room.

"How so?" the younger Dumbledore inquired.

"He steals things from the other children, he hurts them. He can make...make things happen...with his thoughts" the Matron replied sounding terrified at all this.

She opened the door, said "Tom there is someone here to see you" and promptly vanished.

The two wizards followed Dumbledore into the room as he shut the door.

Harry kept a rapt interest in the conversation as the younger Dumbledore explained about magic, how Riddle had it and how there was a school he could go to to control it.

By the time the memory ended Harry had the distinct impression that the young Riddle had been a sociopath.

They viewed a number of other memories including of one Regulus Arcturus Black who Harry knew to be Sirius deceased brother and a Deatheater.

It was in this memory that Harry was told the reason for why he was in the office.

As Regulus figured out that Voldemort had created something called a Horcrux.

Harry had no idea what it was as he'd not heard of it before so he continued to follow the memory.

A memory which showed that Regulus had stolen a locket that belonged to Voldemort and had been kept in a cave.

The locket had been given to a House Elf called Kreacher.

Harry recalled the name from one of Sirius' many declarations of how bad his life had been there and that a House Elf in the employ of the Blacks had contributed to this living hell.

Further memories from other captured Deatheaters confirmed the Horcruxes existed though not how many there really were.

When Harry and Dumbledore finally finished viewing the memories they left the pensieve which was packed away and Dumbledore instructed Harry to sit down.

"Harry, there is a reason I have shown you all of these memories" Dumbledore gestured to first the wrecked diary and then to the unknown object "this diary was a Horcrux while this object here is still a Horcrux. A Horcrux is a dark object. It is created by a witch or wizard slaying another witch or wizard and placing a piece of their soul inside".

Harry's blood turned to ice. He was fast understanding why he'd been called up to the office "it is my firm belief that these two Horcruxes were created when Voldemort was here at Hogwarts as a student".

"Moaning Myrtle" Harry said, unaware he'd uttered the name aloud.

"What about Myrtle Harry?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry looked at the Headmaster "she's the one person who the Basilisk killed when the Chamber was first opened".

Dumbledore nodded. Harry continued "that must be how he created the diary".

Harry frowned "but how did he create the other Horcrux, this...whatever it is".

"Diadem" Severus supplied as he gazed at the silver object.

He moved round the desk as did Professor McGonagall "I assume you've heard the legends of magic objects possessed by the four Hogwarts founders" he said.

Harry nodded "several times. There is the sword of Gryffindor which sits in this office and there were also..." he thought for a moment before recalling "the cup of Helga Hufflepuff, the locket of Salazar Slytherin and..." his eyes widened "the diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw".

Harry gazed at the silver object feeling stunned "I know the sword exists but...".

"But you had no idea the others did too" Severus replied "nor do most other people. We have not found the cup and have no idea if it still exists but we have the sword which is not a Horcrux and this diadem which is one".

"You mean that object has been defiled by dark magic?" Harry said feeling revolted "that object has a piece of Voldemort's...soul?".

Dumbledore nodded "it does" he confirmed "each of us Professors has handled it and experienced flashes of memory from Voldemort".

"If this is a Horcrux how do we destroy it?" Harry asked.

"That question is easy to answer my boy" Dumbledore told him as he reached down and picked up the sword "the sword is still coated from Basilisk venom from the moment you stabbed the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets and Basilisk venom is, according to every book I have read, the only way to destroy a Horcrux".

"So we only need to use the sword and Voldemort is weakened" Harry concluded grasping the significance of the discovery.

"Exactly right my boy. Exactly right" Dumbledore agreed.

"There are several complications however" Professor McGonagall cut in.

Harry turned his attention to her "you see we don't know how many there are".

"You mean...there are more than two?" Harry said.

The three Professors nodded "I cannot imagine a wizard like Voldemort would only create two of these Horcruxes as that would not be sufficient protection for him".

"We intend to discover how many he has and we think we know of at least one more" Severus revealed sounding hoarse.

Harry looked at the three Professors who were staring at him with pitying looks on their faces 'why are they...' his thought began only to cut itself off as his brain supplied the obvious 'they think I'm a Horcrux'.

"No" he said in denial and then repeated "no!" more loudly before shouting "no!" in anguish "I...I can't be" he said desperately.

But one look on the faces of the Professors confirmed it. 'They wouldn't be looking this upset if I wasn't' he thought miserably.

"I'm so sorry Harry" Dumbledore said sadly.

"How did it happen?" he asked in a choked voice.

Dumbledore sighed "fifteen years ago when Lord Voldemort attacked your Parents and yourself at your Godric's Hollow home...you remember being told that your Mother sacrificed herself using very old magic to save you?".

Harry nodded "yes".

"Well" Dumbledore continued "when Voldemort attempted to kill you and it backfired on him, he lost his mortal body. Based on information from yourself he is out there somewhere, or rather what's left of him is and you see..." the old wizard wrung his hands "as his spirit fled Godric's Hollow a part of itself latched onto the only living thing left in that bedroom...you".

Harry's chest felt tight. He was struggling to breath as he began to panic.

He could accept most things in life. Being a wizard meant life was already a bit strange so nothing much fazed him anymore but this?...it was insane!.

Harry found a glass of water placed in front of him and without bothering to look up and see who had handed it to him he drank it down quickly and mumbled "thanks".

A voice sounded from far away which said "I believe you have seen and been told enough for tonight Harry" Professors Snape and McGonagall helped him to his feet.

"We shall speak more when you have had time to digest all of the information. And remember what I have said, please tell no one except those you would trust with your life as this is information has major ramifications".

Harry nodded dully and was escorted from the office.

He had very little recollection of arriving in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady or of his Head of House giving the password and guiding him in.

He was only dimly aware of McGonagall having a short conversation with his brother, sister, girlfriend and friends and barely registered sitting down.

He sat on the sofa gazing at the flames crackling away in the fireplace, his mind awash with so many thoughts it was hard to organise them all into a single coherent one.

He felt someone sit down on his right, another person on his left and heard several sitting others sitting down nearby.

For many long moments there was silence except for the fireplace.

All other students had left the common room.

Harry glanced at his watch and saw that it was eleven pm and he should, as Prefect, be accompanying his friend Hermione on their rounds near the Tower but he just couldn't bring himself to stand up.

He couldn't even bring himself to speak, such was his shock and his despair.

It felt as though everything he had seen and done in his sixteen years of life meant nothing. As if none of it had made any difference. Saving the Philosophers Stone from Quirrell and Voldemort, killing the Basilisk and the shade of Riddle and battling Lockhart down in the Chamber, fighting off the Dementors and saving Buckbeak in Third Year and the Triwizard Tournament last year.

With the state of mind he was in right now, none of it felt like it had meant anything.

To Harry it felt like it was all pointless. 'Why did I bother doing any of it?' he lamented in his mind.

He shivered violently.

Right now he didn't feel like the would be saviour of the wizarding world.

He felt unclean. Dirty. Soiled. No use.

Everything was slotting into place for him.

The times he would lash out for seemingly no reason at friends and family, his horrific nightmares, the ability to speak Parceltongue.

"Oh god!" he shouted in sudden frustration causing everyone nearby to jump in surprise and fright at the sudden outburst.

Harry looked round at his friends and siblings and yelled "why is it always me?!".

He seized a glass from the coffee table nearby and hurled it at the wall causing it to shatter loudly.

He was breathing hard now as he saw the fear, concern and pity from his friends and family "I...I..I'm sorry" he said deflating now.

Softly, Ginny asked cautiously "Harry what's happened? what did Dumbledore tell you?".

Harry looked at Ginny and then at the others. He went to speak but found his throat was too dry.

He swallowed and said "he..he told...he told me..." the tears began to well up in his eyes "he showed me that Voldemort..." many of those present flinched at the sound of the dark wizards name "Voldemort created several things called Horcruxes by...by killing, he...he split his soul".

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed at the revelation.

No one else said anything as they guessed that Harry was not done talking "that can't be what's got you so upset Harry. Something else has happened" Molly said wisely.

Harry turned to his sister. His throat constricted. The tears began to fall now. Slow to start with and then steadily more until he was crying.

It was not a normal cry. It was the howling despair of someone who feels he is past all hope. Who feels that everything is gone.

Harry felt someone grasp his hand firmly but gently and he turned to stare into the chocolate brown eyes of the girl he loved "you can tell us anything Harry, whatever it is" she assured him softly as she kissed his hand.

Still feeling choked Harry smiled weakly at his girlfriend before speaking in a hoarse voice "Dumbledore told me that I...I..am...".

He looked at Draco whose eyes had widened in surprise and showed Harry that his brother had picked up on his jumbled thoughts through their mental link and thus already knew.

"When Voldemort attacked me and Parents at Godric's Hollow, he tried to kill me, you all know that" everyone nodded.

"Well...when he did that, my Mum got in the way. The Killing Curse hit me but rebounded on Voldemort and caused him to lose his body. When that happened Voldemort or what was left of him fled the house. Before he did though a part of him latched...latched..." Harry sighed and mumbled.

"What did he say?" Neville said having not heard properly.

"I said...a part of Voldemort's soul...lives...inside of me" Harry said brokenly.

An uncomfortable silence followed this pronouncement as no one seemed to know how to respond.

Following his explanation Harry broke down again and sobbed into Ginny's shoulder while his sister rubbed his back soothingly.

Draco, Ron, Neville and Luna exchanged sad looks.

After a while Harry stopped crying, stood up and left after a brief "goodnight".

Once he was gone and they could hear the door to the Fifth Year dorm closing, Neville summed up the universal feeling "hasn't he been through enough?".

Luna and Ginny were both in silent thought while Ron and Draco nodded agreement with the sentiment.

Draco added "and I know what he's thinking right now as well. He's thinking he's dark" he informed the others.

As Molly began to cry and he hugged her.

The portrait hole opened and in stepped a frazzled looking Hermione "you would not believe what happened tonight!" she said in flustered voice.

One look at the others sitting around looking upset and noting the absence of Harry, she commented "I'm assuming it wasn't good, whatever they told him".

"Worse than you could imagine" Draco said sadly and then filled her in on the information Harry had given them.

A collective decision was made to show Harry how much he meant to them that next day as they all knew that the information given to Harry had the potential to destabilise him completely.

* * *

The next morning Harry woke up feeling absolutely lousy.

Getting up early, he eschewed his regular exercise routine, deciding that there was no point to it.

He was about to head to the Great Hall for a small and quick breakfast when strong arms grabbed him and he found himself being dragged out of the portrait hole and pulled on and on.

To his great surprise his unknown assailants did not try to take him out of Hogwarts, instead they dragged him up to the section of wall opposite the statue of Barnabas The Barmy. The section of wall that Harry knew contained the hidden entrance to the Room of Requirement.

Harry found himself being pulled into the room and thrown down onto a sofa.

When he looked up he saw Fred and George the Weasley twins grinning at him widely "what the hell are you doing?" he burst out in annoyance.

"Sorry Harry" George...or Fred, said apologetically "orders" said Fred...or George. They pointed to a corner of the room from which emerged a girl with long red hair.

"Gin Gin?" he said in confusion "why have you brought me here?".

For an answer several other figures appeared, Ron, Draco, Molly, Luna and Neville "you aren't evil Harry" Ginny said.

"But..." Harry tried to say only for Ginny to approach him and place a finger to his lips "no arguments Harry my love" she said sternly.

"Ron, the pensieve" she said authoritatively.

Ron, Neville and Draco pulled a large stone object from a hidden area and into the main room.

Standing up, Harry could see that it was indeed a pensieve.

He was about to ask why it was there when Fred and George gripped his arms.

Hermione appeared from...somewhere and pressed her wand to Harry's temple.

She began to extract memories from Harry's head which she soon placed into the pensieve.

He was dragged over to the stone object by his girlfriend and Ginny looked at him sternly "we are viewing these memories...NOW".

Harry gulped and nodded feeling it better to agree.

Ginny took one of his hands in hers and he felt comfort from the warmth it provided "one, two...three" they plunged into the pensieve and fell for a short while before landing on solid ground.

Harry watched on for what must have been a good hour, as memory after memory flashed through his mind.

He watched as he, Draco and their friends fought off the bullies in the field and helped became friends with a grateful Hermione.

He watched as he and the other New Marauders braved the dangers of a three headed dog, winged keys, potions, devils snare and a life size chess set before he then confronted Professor Quirrell and his Master Voldemort in the chamber where the Philosophers Stone was kept.

He watched as his younger self was offered the return of his Mother. Was offered and end to pain and suffering if he gave in and handed the stone to Voldemort but refused vociferously causing Quirrell to try killing him.

The scene shifted again as it showed him planning birthday parties for friends and family, laughing and joking with those he cared about, battling the shade of Riddle, Professor Lockhart and a Basilisk with Ron in the Chamber and destroying the accursed diary.

Showed him telling stories to his younger siblings, helping out on Christmas Day, playing Quidditch and showed him dancing with Ginny at the Yule Ball.

Showed him and the girl he loved kissing passionately.

The memories ended and Harry and Ginny found themselves standing on the stone floor of the Room of Requirement.

Ginny looked at him hopefully and he stared back at his girlfriend.

For several seconds nothing happened and then he pulled Ginny into a passionate embrace, kissing her deeply and hugging her as if nothing and no one else mattered.

When they pulled apart he said in voice full of love and tenderness "thank you. Thank you my love you saved me".

He wiped tears away from the corners of his eyes and turned to the others standing nearby now smiling "thank you everyone. You are always there when I doubt myself to help me. I love you guys".

The entire group were pulled into a group hug.

When it was over Fred and George said as one "don't tell anyone we hugged you lot. We have our reputations to think of".

That broke any remaining tension as everyone laughed long and loud.

* * *

The rest of the week rolled by as Harry slowly got used to the information given to him by Dumbledore and the other Professors and was shown more memories of Voldemort.

At lunch that Saturday afternoon he received a note from Dumbledore by way of Professor McGonagall which asked for him and the other New Marauders plus Molly to meet him in his office the following afternoon for an important conversation.

His first thought on seeing the note was 'so he already knows I told them'. He smiled to himself 'of course he knows...he's Dumbledore!'.

Any thoughts of what the meeting could be about were driven from his mind as he, Draco, Ron and Neville with help from Fred and George, assembled everything for Molly's twelve birthday which was to be held as usual at Hagrids cabin.

The food was a mixture of food done by those at the Manor and the Hogwarts House Elves who were only too willing to lend a hand.

Hagrid had baked the cake and given how bad his large friends cooking skills usually were Harry had to admit that when it came to cakes the half-giant cooked them with skill and style "it looks brilliant Hagrid" he said to the larger wizard who blushed and replied "kind of yeh to say Arry".

The ensuing belated birthday part was a fun day for everyone with a live Punch and Judy show being put on by the Marauders and their spouses and with much dancing and jokes to be had.

Late on in the party as Harry went to fill up another glass with punch, he observed his sister dancing with his friend Neville and stood for a moment staring at them thoughtfully.

Harry had seen the same look they were giving each other etched onto the faces of Ron and Hermione when they had begun dating and on the faces of Luna and his brother Draco when the same had happened.

He assumed that the look Neville was giving Molly was the same that he gave Ginny most of the time "falling in love so young" his Uncle Remus commented softly.

Harry glanced at him and realised with astonishment that due to his growth he was the same height "I don't think Dad approves" he remarked in amusement, directing his Uncles attention to the amusing sight of James Potter being held back by his wife from interrupting the dancing.

Harry and Remus laughed and then he asked his Uncle "Moony, how are things going with Tonks?".

"Fine" Remus lied "just fine".

Harry gave him the patented "you're lying look" that he gave whenever one of the Marauders or their spouses would claim to be fine when something was up.

Remus held Harry's penetrating gaze for a second before blinking "alright fine" he threw his hands up "we had a row" he admitted.

He and Harry sat down "what about?" Harry asked, though he could take a good guess.

A look at his Uncles face told him what no words could "not again Moony!" he exclaimed in disbelief "I've told you, Dad's told you, Wormtail's told you, Padfoot's told you as has my Mum, Aunt Janice and Aunt Celia. Her Parents have said it, Uncle Sev said it, Hagrid did and so has Tonks herself!" he nearly shouted.

In a quieter voice he said "she loves you Moony. You know it and so does everyone else" Harry turned to Sirius and peter who were chatting nearby "isn't that right, Padfoot, Wormtail?".

"What's that Harry?" Peter asked.

"We all know Tonks loves Moony and she loves him, right?".

Both men grinned "oh yeah" Peter responded and Sirius added "no doubt about it".

Harry's Dad was walking over "what are we all talking about?" he asked as he readjusted his glasses "I was just saying to Moony how we all know Tonks loves him and he loves her" he told his Dad.

James grinned "oh absolutely. She's crazy about him and he actually burned himself the other week, so caught up in staring at her".

"Alright, alright!" Remus exclaimed miserably as he held his head in his hands. He then added "you lot don't know what it's like. You don't have this...this...".

"Furry little problem?" Harry Dad said, supplying the word he, Sirius and Peter had used to describe their friends condition since finding out about it.

James, Sirius, Peter and Harry laughed and Remus snapped angrily as he glared at them "it's not funny!" he shouted, drawing attention to them all for a few moments.

The laughter died at once and a short silence fell before Harry's Dad put a hand on Remus's shoulder "look Moony, we weren't laughing at you" he said cautiously.

"Just your daft idea" Sirius continued as he rested a hand on Remus' other shoulder.

"Thinking that Tonks wouldn't want you because you're a werewolf" Peter said in his best "don't be stupid" tone.

Remus flicked his gaze from one to the other of them "you told Tonks about your condition on your first date and what did she say?" Harry asked.

"That doesn't matter" Remus said as squirmed trying to evade the subject.

"She said that just because you turn into a hairy oaf for one night out of the month didn't mean you weren't still human and that you didn't deserve love" Harry supplied for his Uncle.

"Tonks doesn't care what you are Moony" James said "she loves you for your personality".

"Yeah Moony. Stop being a prat and apologise to her" Peter said.

Remus stared across the marquee to where Tonks was engaged in a lively discussion with Hagrid, no doubt about dangerous creatures.

Remus stood up but hesitated "Dad, I think we should..." Harry gestured causing James to grin "son you read my mind" he replied.

They grabbed Remus under the arms and hauled him across the marquee towards Tonks who, hearing the sound of dragging feet, turned away from her conversation and seemed amused by the fact that her boyfriend was being shoved in front of her.

The rest of the Marauders and Harry retreated a short way and watched in anticipation.

They saw Remus open his mouth and in the next moment after he had spoken Tonks was pulling his mouth to hers for a kiss.

When the two had finished Remus stared over at his brothers and nephew.

Harry, James, Peter and Sirius all flashed him the thumbs up and wide grins feeling very happy to have had a hand in repairing the relationship.

"Thank god that worked out" Sirius muttered.

"Yeah, wouldn't have wanted to deal with a moping Moony" James quipped causing his brothers in all but blood and his son to guffaw loudly.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello to all my great readers, favouriters and reviews out there. Another chapter in the story done.

The next chapter will see a meeting between the New Marauders and Dumbledore which will have massive consequences for the future, the first Quidditch match of the season and some sadness for Lucius Nott.


	41. Chapter 41

Disclaimer: The Potterverse belongs only to JK Rowling.

* * *

Chapter Forty One: Horcrux Revelations & First Quidditch Game

The day after Molly's twelfth birthday party started just like most other days at Hogwarts for the New Marauders.

They got up early, donned tracksuits and went for their customary jog round the grounds accompanied by a few other exercises to help their muscles.

They had breakfast at eight am as usual and then headed for class when the school day began.

They were late by three minutes reaching Transfiguration and lost five points each for Gryffindor which was rather embarrassing.

When the the Transfiguration class ended an hour later Professor McGonagall asked all of the New Marauders to stay behind as their class mates left to head to their next lessons or for free period.

"Professor Dumbledore wishes to see all of you this weekend" she explained to them all "what time would you be able to manage?".

Harry looked at the others and turned to the Professor to speak as spokesperson for the group "we could meet with Professor Dumbledore at around three pm" he told their Head of House.

McGonagall nodded and scribbled down the time and date of the meeting on some parchment "very good, thank you" she said to them all and then added "you may go now".

They left the classroom to head to their next lessons and Ron muttered "what on earth was that about?".

The others seemed thoughtful as well and Harry voiced his opinion "I think he wants to show you all the diadem of Ravenclaw".

"The one he thinks is a Horcrux?" Hermione cut in.

Harry nodded "yep, must be the reason. Don't see why else he'd want to see all of us. He'll know I've told you all".

"I still say it's creepy how he knows so much" Ron muttered as they walked along.

The school day proceeded on happily after that save for Seamus Finnegan blowing up his cauldron in Potions and an overly aggressive plant attacking Neville in Herbology.

That night as Harry and Hermione went on their regular patrol they saw Professor Diggory on the Marauders Map which they used on each patrol.

He was leaving his quarters which was not unusual, but what he did next was most certainly **very **unusual as he hurried along to the the Entrance Hall, exited the castle and then disappeared from the map.

Harry felt sure he had disapparated.

"That's very odd" he said biting his lip and frowning.

Next to him Hermione nodded "wonder why he was in such a hurry".

All thoughts of the unusual incident were driven from their mind when they caught sight of two other individuals out and about after hours. It was Fred and George the Weasley Twins.

The Twins were creeping towards the Slytherin dungeons and seemed to be very intent on something.

"They aren't as sneaky as us!" Harry hissed at the map.

"We'd better stop them before they lose us House points!" Hermione exclaimed. Harry nodded feeling irritated with the Twins.

"Why didn't they ask for my cloak?" he said as they began running.

"Fred and George never have been ones for subtlety" Hermione commented.

They flew around corners, down staircases and headed for the dungeons at breakneck speed.

They caught sight of the Twins not far from the hidden entrance to the Slytherin common room.

They dashed towards them and jumped on them.

"Argh!" one shouted in shock.

While the other shouted "oi get off!".

With great effort Harry and Hermione managed to drag them round the corner to hide just as a Slytherin Prefect passed by.

They dragged the Twins from the area of the dungeons and as they pulled them towards the stairs leading to Gryffindor Tower Hermione rounded on them "you two could have lost us a lot of points tonight!" she snapped at the older boys who merely grinned.

"If you wanted to carry out a prank why didn't you ask for my cloak?" Harry demanded "you would have been able to carry out the prank and not risk being caught!".

As Fred and George merely kept grinning the younger students hauled them up the stairs to the portrait of the Fat Lady, murmured the password and shoved them into the common room "we saved your arses this time" Harry warned "but next time we'll have to take you to McGonagall".

"I can't believe this!" Fred or George exclaimed.

"He's gone all perfect Prefect on us!" the other said indignantly.

"He's growing up that's all!" Hermione snapped "there are more important things sometimes than playing pranks!".

The Twins were looking at Hermione with interest now and Harry was sure that it had been a big mistake to mention about more important things "ooh, interesting" one of the Twins said with a smirk "Ickle Harriekins has a secret".

They then badgered Harry about incessantly before he shouted "I can't talk about it!" and stormed off through the portrait hole to finish their Prefect rounds.

Hermione stayed long enough to glare at the Twins and then followed him.

* * *

That Saturday the 4th of November was a gloomy day, overcast and with rain hammering down.

The rain was accompanied by lightning and flashes of thunder.

Harry decided that, in the circumstances, going for a morning jog would not be a good idea and instead opted, with the agreement of everyone else, to go for a jog round the castle and do exercises in the Room of Requirement.

He was relieved, given the weather, when Angelina the Gryffindor team Captain came up to him on the New Marauders return to the common room "I've spoken to Professor McGonagall and cancelled the practise for today" she informed Harry and Ron who were the two New Marauders on the team.

Whilst Harry would like to have been able to go and get more practise in for their opening game against Slytherin he agreed wholeheartedly with the decision.

When he told Fred and George at breakfast they also agreed "I'd hate to be out in this weather" Fred or possibly George commented.

As talk turned to the Quidditch league which was currently being won by the Holyhead Harpies, Ginny's favourite team, Harry's mind turned to the meeting with Professor Dumbledore.

He was certain it had to do with Horcruxes but he wondered just why the old wizard was showing them now given that Voldemort had not even returned.

It was a question he pondered all through the morning as he worked on his homework including a Potions essay and as he played a game of wizards chess with his brother Draco with his distraction causing him to lose. He barely even paid attention when his brother gloated in good humour chanting "I beat Harry, I beat Harry".

Three pm rolled around and Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville, Hermione, Ginny and Luna all found themselves standing in front of the two stone gargoyles alongside Professor McGonagall.

"Wine gums" she murmured causing the gargoyles to leap aside and reveal the winding spiral staircase.

The entire group stepped on it and lapsed into silence, all of them seeming as thoughtful as Harry was "do you think the meeting is about what I think it is?" a voice asked over his mental link.

"Yes brother. I do" Harry replied simply as he and Draco glanced at each other for a moment.

The staircase shuddered to a halt. The group stepped off and began walking down the hallway to the Headmasters Office, none of them surprised at this point in their school careers to see the doors already opening as they approached.

Dumbledore was standing today, rather then sitting, behind his desk. His usual smiling face was grim and set.

Harry noted with puzzlement that his Dad, Draco's Dad Sirius, Mr Longbottom Neville's Dad and a surprise visitor, were all waiting with Professor Snape.

"Hello Professors" Harry said politely before hugging his Dad "Dad what are you and Padfoot doing here with Mad...I mean Mr Moody and Mr Longbottom?" he asked quizzically.

His father was not smiling, he looked serious. "Professor Dumbledore asked us all to be here for something relating to Voldemort, though he would not tell us what" he said as stared at Dumbledore who stared back looking relaxed as ever.

Dumbledore and Harry's Dad conjured many chairs "please sit down everyone" Professor Dumbledore said cordially.

Those present in the office sat down in the semi circle of chairs in front of the Headmasters desk.

Professor Snape remained standing beside Professor Dumbledore giving a smile to Harry and the other New Marauders.

"I am glad you could all be here this afternoon" the Headmaster said with a smile "I would imagine that most of you are wondering just why I asked you to come here today".

Most of the those in the office exchanged looks and then looked at Dumbledore with their faces plainly registering their interest.

"Severus please fetch the sword, the diary and the diadem".

Professor Snape nodded, reached behind him and took the sword off the wall.

He then cross the office to a wooden cabinet. Opening the doors he took out two packages wrapped securely in towels.

The packages were carried over to the desk and put down and Severus opened them up, placing them carefully on the desk beside the sword.

The Potions Master then returned to his place next to Dumbledore and nodded to Alastor Moody.

Moody nodded back and placed another object down on the desk in front of everyone.

It was a solid gold ring with a black stone set in the centre.

Harry and most others in the room drew in a sharp breath in shock as they recognised the symbol on the stone.

It was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, three mythical objects said to contain immense power having been created by Death himself.

"What are these objects?" Sirius asked from his seat.

"This is the sword of Godric Gryffindor" Dumbledore told him as he picked up the sword and asked "Alastor, can you please show this round?".

The former Auror grunt assent, took the sword and went round the office showing it off.

Sirius' reaction summed up that of many others "bloody hell!, I thought this was lost!".

"Many did dear Sirius" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his bright blue eyes "but this is the very same sword that Harry used in the Chamber of Secrets in his second year to kill the deadly Basilisk".

When the sword reached Harry he rubbed his hand over the hilt lovingly still finding it as magnificent as when it appeared to him three years previously.

The sword was then placed back on the table and Dumbledore held up the old leather diary belonging to Tom Riddle that had a large hole in it's centre "this, though Harry and myself did not know at the time, is a Horcrux" as the diary was handed round he said "it explains why a piece of Riddle's soul managed to dwell within it's pages for fifty years".

"Wait a minute!" James exploded "so you're telling me that my son has to destroy these things is Voldemort comes back?".

Dumbledore nodded gravely "I'm afraid it is so James. I wish it could be someone else but you know the prophecy as well as I, as does Harry".

"Neither can live while the other survives" Harry whispered.

The diary was taken back and placed on the desk. Dumbledore gestured to but did not pick up the next item, instead unwrapping it very carefully "this is an item that most believe to be mere legend. I have already shown it to Harry and Minerva though most of you have never seen it".

"Is that..." Sirius began to say.

"The diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw!" Hermione burst out in obvious awe at the artefact.

Dumbledore smiled in approval at the level of Hermione's knowledge "yes Miss Granger it is indeed the lost diadem on Rowena Ravenclaw. Severus here" Dumbledore gestured to Severus who nodded "was tasked with finding said object in the location I believed it to be hidden. The Room of Requirement".

Everyone gazed in reverence at the object that had been believed lost for so many centuries "it is, of course, the second of two Horcruxes made while the then Tom Riddle was here at school".

Dumbledore then unwrapped the final item on the desk "and this my friends, is the Gaunt family ring".

"No bloody way!" Draco said in amazement "I've read about that Professor, it was handed down from father to son for hundreds of years" he gazed into the twinkling eyes of the Headmaster "how did you come by it sir?".

Professor Dumbledore smiled "I tasked Alastor here with taking a little trip to Azkaban to visit a certain resident of that establishment. With the information Alastor acquired he was able to track down the ring to the Gaunt house in a place called Little Hangleton".

"I've never heard of it Sir" Draco said.

"I'm sure you haven't my boy. It is not well known among wizards due to it being just a simple Muggle village, but it is where the Gaunts dwelt after wasting all of their wealth".

Dumbledore moved round the desk "I would imagine that none of you know that Voldemort's mother was Merope Gaunt".

Everyone shook their heads. Even Hermione and Draco did not know of this.

"Merope was the daughter of one Marvolo Gaunt and sister to Morfin Gaunt. They were the last three members of that famous old family. Merope was treated like dirt by her brother and father who called her a squib, refused her a wand and would not let her attend Hogwarts".

Dumbledore perched on the edge of his desk warming to his story "one day, Merope was out the front of the house when a young man came riding along the track past her home. She had seen him before of course, from afar, but had never spoken to him. He was very handsome, lean and with short dark hair. She loved him at first sight. It was then that she decided she had to have him. She secretly brewed one of the most dangerous potions of all. A love potion".

"Amortentia" Draco said.

"Quite correct Mr Black" Dumbledore said before continuing the story "so, she brewed said potion and manufactured an incident where she could give a drink to Tom Riddle. He drank it and fell completely under her spell. She married him and kept brewing the potion until one day she believed he had really fallen in love with her and she stopped brewing it. Soon the effects wore off and Tom Riddle, furious at the trickery, left her, returning to his Muggle relatives. Merope, heartbroken, had just enough strength to reach a Muggle orphanage in London where she gave birth and gave the child the name Tom Marvolo Riddle, before succumbing to death".

When he had finished the tale of Merope Gaunt he could see that Ginny, Hermione and Luna were weeping and being comforted by their boyfriends while Professors Snape and McGonagall looked sad "such a tragic story" Ginny said in a choked voice.

"Indeed yes Miss Weasley" Dumbledore said sadly "but it does teach us one thing. Never fool yourself into thinking that a potions effects have created true love for they do not".

Ginny nodded at the truth of this statement.

"So Voldemort grew up in a Muggle orphanage" Harry said feeling a bit that he could see why Riddle would hate Muggles.

"But how did he get the ring?" Ron asked.

"Ah. The really important question" Dumbledore said "when he was in his last year at Hogwarts he took a trip to the same Gaunt house in which his mother had grown up. Once there he confronted his Uncle Morfin who was in possession of the ring. He stunned Morfin, went to the Riddle house which sat up on the hill, killed his Paternal relatives in revenge, then returned, took the Gaunt family ring and altered Morfin's mind to believe **he **had killed the Riddle family. Morfin was thus imprisoned in Azkaban".

"So how did old Mad Eye..." Moody scowled at the nickname "find the ring if Voldemort took it?" Sirius asked.

"Simple my dear Sirius. He paid a visit to the same Muggle orphanage that Voldemort lived in".

"It was still there?" James said in amazement having heard how Muggles tended to knock down old buildings.

"Oh yes. It's a charitable endeavour you see, built on land given by the crown and as such is safe from being knocked down or changed, tell them what you know Alastor".

Moody stepped forward "back in August I began a search across Britain trying to find the ring. I looked everywhere possible in the magical world before it hit me" he said in his usual gravely voice "the thought came to me that I should try the Muggle world as it would be a less obvious hiding place, so I stopped by the one place besides Hogwarts he spent a considerable amount of time. The orphanage. Interestingly enough, the old lady running the place is the daughter of the woman who ran the home when Voldemort lived there. I searched all of the rooms claiming to be a Muggle detective. I searched various wall panels and loose floorboards. I finally found the ring, hidden in what must have been Voldemort's old room. He had placed a charm which I had to counter but I broke the spell and took the ring which I brought here".

"That's a hell of a story" James said in awe of his mentors abilities.

Moody grinned.

"What do we do with the Horcruxes now Professor?" Hermione asked softly.

"That is a very astute question Miss Granger, with a surprisingly simple answer" Dumbledore replied with a smile "all we need to is use the sword of Gryffindor, slice down into the object containing the bit of Voldemort's soul and the Basilisk venom will do it's work, forcing the soul from the object and destroying it".

"If we destroy these two Horcruxes would that mean Voldemort would be weakened?" Neville asked.

"It would indeed Mr Longbottom" Dumbledore said "alas, it is highly probable that Voldemort, should he return, will merely create more of them. We thus have a dilemma" he said thoughtfully "do we destroy the Horcruxes and hope he makes no more of them, or do we keep them around to destroy when he returns?".

"Professor?" Harry said, a thought occurring to him "could he create the Horcruxes out of anything?".

Dumbledore nodded gravely "absolutely anything my boy" he picked up the diary "you have all seen how he turned a perfectly ordinary diary into a Horcrux".

Harry made a decision then and there for good or ill "then it's not worth it yet" he said decisively. All heads turned to him and he looked round at his friends, family and Professors "if we destroy these two Horcruxes he'll simply make more and we'll be back to square one because we won't know what they are or where they are".

"Harry's right" Draco declared.

"The hell he is!" Ron shouted "I may be your best friend Harry but this is madness! we need to destroy them!".

"No Harry's right about this Ron" Hermione said gently as she pulled Ron back to his seat "we have two of his Horcruxes now and over time can find more. It's better to have two of them to hand ready to destroy than to have to begin searching all over again".

Ron seemed to think about this for a moment before saying "I'm sorry Harry, I agree, it does make sense after all".

Harry waved away the apology "don't worry about mate" he said with a grin "you just want to defeat Voldemort like the rest of us".

Ron grinned back "well now that this decision has been made" Dumbledore began with a twinkle in his eyes "I believe the safest thing to do would be to hide these objects from prying eyes and I know just where to put them" he said.

All heads turned to him as he spoke "a certain hidden dungeon chamber that we used for the Philosophers Stone".

Several people began to protest this only for Dumbledore to hold up his hands for silence "I well understand your objections my friends" he said calmly "but this time only the adults in this room will be asked to contribute to it's protection and only those of us here will be aware that the objects are even kept in the school. It will make for an easier time when destroying them I assure you".

This seemed to settle everyone down.

Harry had an idea "I think we should all swear a wizards oath not to reveal the location of the two Horcruxes" he said as the inspiration hit him.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful, McGonagall and Snape were both nodding approvingly at the suggestion and the others looked a mixture of apprehensive and intrigued.

"A wizards oath would prevent any of us in this room informing anyone else about the Horcruxes" Dumbledore mused out loud "we wouldn't be able to say, willing or forced" Dumbledore nodded as he warmed to the idea "yes I think it the safest option" he declared.

Many others voiced their agreement "it would be prudent to add an alarm system as well" James said "that way if someone overhears us talking about them we'll be able to stop them from taking the Horcruxes".

After much discussion of ways to protect the Horcruxes from thieves and Deatheaters Dumbledore said "I do believe it is time for dinner".

James looked at his watch and swore. When he saw Professor McGonagall glaring at him he said abashed "sorry Minerva".

The old witch sighed.

"James is right to swear thought" Sirius said, standing up "it's cottage pie tonight being cooked by Lucy and Peter and they'll kill if we're late".

Everyone laughed at this which released the tension over the subject they had been discussing.

James and Sirius hugged their sons, waved goodbye to everyone else and left Dumbledore's Office by floo.

"Well now" Dumbledore said brightly "time for dinner I think and then of course, the Defence meeting".

Moody waved goodbye to everyone and then left the office as the students and Professors made their way from the office and onto the spiral staircase.

That night after dinner was finished, the Professors helped to clear the tables to the side and the Hogwarts Defence Association meeting began.

"Ok now that everyone has a basic Patronus we'll be working on the Knockback Jinx" Harry said from his position on the stage "I understand some of you already know this but it never hurts to practise and in any case you'll be able to help the younger students".

What followed was an extremely chaotic but fun meeting in which bodies flew left and right on the mat strewn floor.

There were demonstrations of skill as Ginny, Draco and Blaise Zabini all showed their great skill at the Jinx along with several others.

As the meeting ended that night Harry thanked each student individually for coming "don't forget to practise in your spare time!" he called out to them as they left the Great Hall chatting and laughing.

Ginny came to his side slipping her hand into his "hey love" she said with a warm smile "hey love" he replied with a grin.

They kissed deeply before helping to remove the mats from the floor and walls. Once this was all done the left the Great Hall.

While on patrol that night Hermione asked Harry the very question Harry had been pondering himself "do you think he'll come back?".

When Harry looked at her in confusion she clarified "Voldemort, I mean".

They halted in the corridor and he considered the question for a moment "yes I do" he said eventually "the prophecy clearly states that neither can live while the other survives and that one of us must kill the other. He's not dead Hermione. Like Hagrid and others have said, he's out there somewhere. He's biding his time and when he gets his body back..." Harry shuddered at the horrible thought.

"What?" Hermione said.

"Lets just say it was bad last time Hermione" he said "very bad. Witches and wizards disappearing, being killed, Muggles attacked and killed. the Dark Mark everywhere. Not knowing who to trust".

Hermione shivered though it was not cold "and you think that'll happen again?" she whispered fearfully.

Harry nodded and stared at the far wall as he said solemnly "and if...when Voldemort returns it'll be ten times worse because he'll want revenge on me" Harry looked at Hermione "and he won't hesitate to hurt and even kill the people I care about or anyone remotely associated with me in order to get his revenge and gain full power".

* * *

The day after the meeting with Dumbledore dawned grey and wet but inside Harry felt warm. Very warm.

He was happy today for it was the first game of the Quidditch season at Hogwarts and he couldn't wait to get up in the air on his broom and zoom through the sky as the wind whipped at his face.

There were very few things in life he loved more than Quidditch, with Ginny, his friends, family and Defence Against The Dark Arts being the only things more important to him.

As he donned his grey tracksuit and left the castle with his friends and brother for their customary early morning exercise he grinned to himself widely. He felt rather confident about today as he and the rest of the Gryffindor team had been practising like demons for the past several months in order to get their tactics perfected, their strategies ironed out and get all of them in tip top physical condition.

Harry knew that it was going to be a very brutal match again this year as it always was against Slytherin House.

The Slytherin teams entire playing style was centred on dirty tactics and, indeed, there had been several confrontations with Slytherins in the corridors, the Great Hall, Hogsmeade and the grounds as Slytherins attempted to nobble the Gryffindor team with Angelina and Harry himself being the prime targets.

The morning went swiftly as Harry spent it playing wizards chess with Ron, Neville and Draco, talking with Hermione about Ancient Runes which they took together and snuggling up with Ginny on the sofa.

As twelve o' clock arrived the New Marauders descended down to the Great Hall for lunch.

Harry himself felt very hungry but was careful in what he ate.

He noticed that Ron, who usually was a big fan of food, had put very little on his plate save for some egg and sausage and he wasn't eating it but merely picking at his food.

He knew he needed to give his best friend a bit of a confidence boost "Ron you've done great in the practise sessions" he assured his nervous friend.

Ron put down his fork with a sigh and looked at Harry "but Harry that was just practise, we didn't have the whole school watching" he said miserably "the first mistake I make they'll be on me".

"Give yourself a break Ron" Draco cut in reassuringly "just imagine you're in that field near The Burrow, or at Marauder Manor. You do great as a goalie there".

"He's correct Ron" Hermione added giving her boyfriends hand a squeeze "you can do this, you are good enough".

More declarations of support came from Neville, Ginny and Luna "you see Ron, we're all backing you up mate" Harry said as he clapped Ron on the shoulder "don't worry about the game and just enjoy being up there".

Ron smiled at this and looked round at the rest of the New Marauders "thanks guys, means a lot" he said gratefully and sincerely before putting a bit more food on his plate and then eating it.

"Well done you" Ginny said as she kissed his cheek.

Harry grinned "didn't take much" he said, though privately he felt warm inside at the praise.

The New Marauders were soon joined by the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and once lunch was over it was time for everyone to head down to the stadium.

Harry and Ron waved to the other New Marauders and declared they would see them soon, as they left the Great Hall alongside Fred and George.

Once they were in the changing rooms Angelina gave a short but inspiring speech about how the Gryffindor team were better all round and would wipe the floor with the Slytherins.

Finally it was time. The team exited the changing room, headed into the tunnel and lined up two abreast except for Angelina who would lead the team out.

The distinctive voice of the Twins friend Lee Jordan could be heard through the tunnel flap as they waited "here comes the Slytherin team" he announced, Crabbe and Goyle, are they really human?" came the comment that made Harry and the others snigger.

"Jordan!" came the stern voice of Professor McGonagall "sorry Professor" came the the not at all sorry reply of Lee who then continued "Theodore Nott as Seeker, bought his way in".

"Jordan!" came the warning voice again and again Lee apologised.

The rest of the Slytherin team was announced "Blaise Zabini in goal this year and the Chasers Parkinson, Greengrass and Bulstrode".

And then it was Gryffindor's turn.

Almost at once Ron began to lose his bottle as the strains of a new song could be heard through the flap "Weasley is our king, he'll always let the quaffle in. Weasley is our king, he'll always let us win".

"Oh I can't do this" Ron moaned miserably from his place next to Harry.

He tried to turn and run away only for Harry to grab him and Fred and George, standing nearby, to block his retreat "Ron if you're going to be on the team you need to block out what other people are saying!" Harry said urgently as Lee began to announce their names "and now the Gryffindor's!" Lee shouted "Angelina Johnson, heck of a Chaser and the team Captain!" Angelina moved forward to exit the tunnel.

"I can't do..." Ron began. Harry cut him off sharply "you can and you will. For our House, for the team and most importantly to prove you can!".

"Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet" the names kept coming.

"Are you in?" Harry demanded.

Ron stared at him, swallowed and nodded as Lee called out "Fred and George, the Weasley twins!".

Fred and George let go of Ron and pushed past him to exit the tunnel.

Ron and Harry took their places "new to the team this year in the position of Goalkeeper it's Ronald Weasley!".

Harry pushed Ron ahead through the flap as Lee called out "and last but not least, he is the the Seeker of Seekers, Harry Potter!".

At the mention of his name the roar coming from the Gryffindor section increased to deafening proportions. Harry allowed himself a little smile as he lined up with his team mates and the pre-game ritual of the coin toss and handshakes were observed. Nott was the Captain this year and shook Angelina's hand like he was trying to break it.

As usual for Angelina she was unfazed and tried equally hard to break Nott's hand as she stared him down.

"I want a nice clean game!" Madam Hooch declared "get ready!" everyone got astride their brooms as Madam Hooch called out "go!".

Fourteen brooms flew high into the air as Madam Hooch released the balls, blew her whistle and joined the players.

Harry took a moment to fly to Ron who was taking position at the Gryffindor hoops. He patted his best friend on the back, said "you show them Ron" and flew off to seek the snitch.

He soon found himself zooming high above the action searching for the elusive golden ball as Lee called out "and the Slytherins are racing down the wing!".

The strains of Weasley is our king filtered through from the Slytherin section causing Harry to scowl. He turned, zoomed down and watched the action.

Ron looked nervous but there was also something else in his eyes. Something Harry only usually saw when there was danger. Determination.

The expression was writ large on his face as he waited for the onslaught from the Slytherins who evaded bludgers from Fred and George, reached the hoops and threw the quaffle at the far right hoop.

Ron, covering the centre hoop, raced to block it and somehow managed to head it away just as it reached the hoop itself.

A great cheer rose up from the Gryffindor's, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuff's.

Harry grinned and returned to his task. Ron would be fine.

As Harry turned his attention back to trying to find the snitch he locked eyes with Theodore Nott who was a short distance away.

The two enemies glared angrily at each other for several moment until their attention was captured by a noise of flitting wings and a speck of gold.

Both their eyes widened as they clapped eyes on it, locked eyes with each other and then took off after the snitch which sped away.

The two Seekers flew at faster and faster speeds as they attempted to catch the ball.

They had just reached the snitch when, without warning, it changed direction and began to take off again.

The two of them pursued it trying to nudge each other out of the way.

As the snitch began to fly downwards quickly, they followed it pushing each other more and more aggressively as each tried to best the other.

Ten feet from the ground the snitch halted. Harry pulled up sharply just in time while Nott, not seeing the movement continued to fall, fell from his broom and landed face first in the dirt.

Harry meanwhile stretched out his arm, snatched up the tiny golden ball and raised his fist in triumph to show his success.

A loud announcement and roar of noise told him that everyone had noticed "Harry Potter has caught the snitch!" Lee Jordan shouted joyfully "Gryffindor wins!".

Chants of "Harry, Harry, Harry and "Weasley is our king" and "Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor" rose from the Gryffindor section of the stands as the Gryffindor's reacted with delight.

Harry was slammed into by several red and gold blurs as the rest of his team mates embraced him in wild delight at the victory "you did it Harry!" Ron shouted above the noise.

Harry grinned "no, you did it Ron, I saw your skills!" Harry shouted back.

Both grinned happily at each other.

As Harry and his team mates descended to the ground and stepped off their brooms they were embraced, clapped and cheered by their fellow Gryffindor's who hauled them onto their shoulders and paraded them from the stadium in raucous mood.

When the Gryffindor's returned to their house common room that afternoon a loud and fun filled party began that was to go on for the rest of the night, ending only when an irritated Professor McGonagall appeared at two in the morning and insisted they go to bed at once.

As Harry went to bed that night he stayed awake for a whole hour thinking back to the joyful moment he had caught the snitch.

These happy thoughts stayed with him as he fell into a sound sleep and he had only pleasant dreams that night.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello all my great readers. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next chapter will include a time jump to December and along with it will be a prank war between Weasley Twins and New Marauders, Christmas celebrations and a meeting.


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer: Everything Potter related belongs to JK Rowling & I make no profit from this.

* * *

Chapter Forty Two: Prank War and Dreams

The rest of the month of November past by quickly as the workload of the Fifth Years increased exponentially.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were the three Fifth Years feeling the most pressure as winter arrived due to Prefect duties on the part of Harry and Hermione, Quidditch practise for Harry and Ron and masses of homework assignments from the teachers on the part of all three.

As the 2nd of December was a Saturday, the entire morning was taken up for Harry and Ron by Quidditch practise as their team Captain Angelina looked to ensuring that their team won the Quidditch Cup what with it being her final year at Hogwarts.

Once the two of them had showered and changed they trudged through the snow covered grounds towards the castle with the plan of meeting the rest of the New Marauders to relax in the Room of Requirement.

Three o' clock found Harry and the other Fifth Years slumped over their parchment and textbooks as they worked on a Potions assignment for Professor Snape while Ginny and Luna worked on some work of their own.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and threw his quill down in frustration as he could think of nothing else to add to the essay.

He reclined back in his armchair and closed his eyes "you know what we all need don't you" he said tiredly.

"Hmm?" Hermione mumbled as she worked almost feverishly at her Potions essay.

"What was that you said Harry?" Draco asked, a sentiment echoed by Neville as the sounds of snoring filled the room. Ron had fallen asleep.

"I said you you know what we need?" Harry repeated.

"What do we need?" Neville asked as Hermione poked Ron roughly causing the red haired boy to jump and look round in surprise.

"What we need is a prank war" Harry said as the inspiration hit him.

"A prank war?" Ginny asked not understand the term.

Draco's eyes lit up at his brothers mention of the term "I see what you mean" he said happily "a prank war to relieve some of the tension and help us relax" he said.

Harry nodded "exactly".

"What is a prank war?" Ginny asked again.

This time Harry answered "a prank war is where a person or several people engage in a series of pranks, each better than the last in an attempt to see who is the better pranking person or group" he explained.

Ginny's face split into a wide grin and Harry said with a smirk "I see you've just thought of the same three people as us".

Ginny nodded "there's only three people as good at pranking as us within this castle".

"We're gonna have a prank war with Fred and George?" Ron said in a surprised but happy voice.

"Yeah" Harry said.

Ron grinned "count me in!" he said enthusiastically.

Harry knew Ron had always wanted to get back at his brothers for the prank played on him with his teddy bear when he was younger.

The rest of the New Marauders also voiced their support except for a frazzled Hermione who didn't seem to think it was a good use of their time, especially those New Marauders that were in their OWL year "come on Mione" Ron said plaintively to his girlfriend "it's just what we all need, especially you, me, Harry, Drake and Nev. We have to let our hair down sometime you know".

The others all added their support to this statement and soon Hermione was on board with the idea "great!" Harry said happily as they reached a consensus "I think we should all speak with them tomorrow" he decided.

"No" Ron said.

Everyone looked at him and the red haired boy said, as if it were completely obvious "I vote that Harry should be the one to do it. He is our leader after all".

"Ah that's not official..." Harry tried to say only for others to say "yes it is".

In the end there was no getting round it. Despite his reluctance for being a position of leadership he had been named leader of the New Marauders and thus would represent them.

The next morning, the first Monday of December, Harry managed to corner Fred, George and Lee in the Gryffindor common room as the three boys were about to head down to breakfast "hey guys, wait up!" he called out as he sprinted across the common room to the portrait hole.

The three of them turned at the voice and grinned as one at the Fifth Year "how..." Fred said.

"Can..." George continued.

"We..." Lee added.

"Help..." Fred carried on.

"You?" they all said together.

Shaking off the feeling that this was exactly what he and Draco sounded like sometimes, Harry said "as leader of the esteemed pranking group known as the New Marauders I have been asked to sound the three of you out on something which I think could be very fun and tension lifting for all of us".

The three Seventh Years looked intrigued by this and Fred...or, said "come over here" pulling him into a corner.

"So what is this proposal Ickle Harrykins?" George said with a grin.

Harry rolled his eyes at the nickname and replied "a prank war between our two groups, to make it fair it'll be three of us versus the three of you" he said.

The three Seventh Years looked overjoyed at this suggestion but instead of immediately agreeing to it they entered a huddle and whispered for several minutes before pulling apart.

Lee acted as spokesman for himself and his friends "you're on" he said, extending a hand for Harry to shake.

Harry gripped it firmly and shook it as he grinned "excellent" he declared.

Once the rest of the New Marauders had found and joined them they discussed various points including what pranks were allowed and which one's weren't.

It was unanimously agreed that any prank which involved hurting people or animals, whether deliberately or by accident, was totally out.

The war would be limited to pranks that were non harmful and the effects of which were not permanent.

* * *

A week went by busily and the 9th of December arrived, cold and with a continuous snowstorm.

Harry had woke up feeling very excited that day as it was the first day, by mutual consent, of the prank war between the Twins and Lee and the New Marauders.

The first prank was to be carried out by the New Marauders who were being given first crack by the other three boys.

After the New Marauders had had breakfast they drew lots to decide which three would carry out the prank they had planned.

Today it would be Harry, Draco and Ron. The prank they had planned was to involve turning Fred and George temporarily pink and any attempt to reverse it would turn them into pink flamingo's and make them perform a complex routine.

The prank war allowed for distractions to be used for a prank to be played. As such, Hermione and Ginny were tasked with distracting Fred, George and Lee for long enough to pull the prank.

That afternoon the New Marauders all had lunch in the Great Hall and continued their false trails as they had done earlier.

They continued to offer sweets to the three boys as well as juice.

Not surprisingly the three older boys refused all offers of food or drink no doubt believing that it had been sabotaged.

If they had known the true prank about to be pulled they wouldn't have been so suspicious of it.

Just before the end of lunch, Harry, Draco and Ron exited the Great Hall grinning at Fred, George and Lee who stared back at them nervously.

The three of them took position near the staircase that would lead up to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Towers.

After a short wait, Hermione and Ginny left the Great Hall too throwing up a thumbs up as they headed for the staircase.

Fred, George and Lee left the hall next casting nervous looks about themselves clearly wondering where the prank would be coming from "Fred, George, Lee!" Ginny called out.

The three boys let their guard down as they walked over to their her and Hermione "what..." George began.

"Can we..." Fred continued.

"Do for..." Lee said.

"You" they finished together.

"I was hoping you could let me know what that spell is for setting off magical fireworks" Ginny said innocently.

The three boys looked stunned as if wondering whether this was the prank "what have you done to the stairs?" George demanded as the three boys began searching the stairs themselves for evidence something had been done.

"Now" Harry said quietly.

Harry, Draco and Ron all raised their wands and aimed one each at the three boys before saying "turn gentem rosea".

A small pink beam of light left their wands and impacted with Fred, George and Lee. Thankfully the spell effects couldn't be felt so the three older students would not know what had happened until they either looked in a mirror or other people pointed it out to them.

"She's up to something guys" Lee said suspiciously.

"I agree, lets go this way" Fred agreed pointing in the other direction.

George nodded and the three of them turned away from the staircase giving Hermione and Ginny odd looks.

Before they had gone far, lunch ended and students began to spill out of the Great Hall.

Caught in the press Fred, George and Lee could do nothing other than stand there hoping to get through.

Someone began to laugh.

The New Marauders watched as the other three boys looked around with smiles wondering just what was funny.

More people began to laugh and many began pointing.

It didn't take long before Fred, George and Lee realised that they were the joke. That something must have happened involving them to make people laugh at them "what are they laughing at us for?" Fred asked the other two only to receive shrugs of confusion.

Fred picked a mirror out of their pocket and looked at it "argh!" Fred shouted in horror as he looked into the mirror.

"What's..." George began to say only to also shout when he looked at his brother.

"What are you shouting for?" Lee asked before shouting himself.

"We're all pink!" the three of them shouted in horror.

"It's alright guys" George assured the other two "I know this spell and I know the counter spell".

He cleared his throat, took out his wand, aimed it at Lee and muttered "rosea e converso".

A pink light came from his wand and impacted with Lee.

For a moment George grinned happily only for the happiness to vanish quickly as he realised that the spell had not only not turned Lee back to normal but had actually turned Lee from a human into... "a flamingo!" Fred shouted in disbelief.

He turned to his brother "what the hell did you do that for?" he asked.

George gaped for a moment, looked down at his wand, shook his head and said "I must have said it wrong".

By this time Hermione and Ginny had joined Harry, Ron and Draco as had Neville and Luna and all of them were howling with laughter at the scene before their eyes.

As more people laughed at the prank.

"Don't worry I'll get it right this time" George declared as he pointed his wand at his twin "no get away from me!" Fred shouted as he tried to push through the crowd.

"rosea e converso" George said again and once again there was a pink light and another pink flamingo stood in the Entrance Hall much to the amusement of the other students.

"What the hell?" George muttered to himself and clearly seemed to be thinking that his wand was malfunctioning "I'm sure that's the incantation" he said to himself.

He decided to try once more to reverse the spell placed on them.

He aimed his wand at his chest, muttered "rosea e converso" and promptly changed from a human into a pink flamingo.

The funniest part was that the three of them could still communicate in flamingo form as Fred shouted "you idiot George!".

"It was my fault!" George shouted back insistently.

"Stop arguing you two!" cut in Lee.

"Lets go to Madam Pomfrey she'll take care of this" Fred suggested.

As the three boys tried to move, the final part of the prank activated and much against their will their legs began to move "this isn't the way to the Hospital Wing!" Lee shouted in concern.

"What's happening?" George shrieked.

The three of them began to dance unable to prevent it.

They carried on like it for fifteen minutes with laughter and applause prevailing.

The spell had just worn off leaving three dizzy and confused Seventh Years sitting on the floor of the Entrance Hall when a sharp voiced called out "what is all this commotion about?".

The sea of students parted to let through Professor McGonagall the Head of Gryffindor House.

She clapped eyes of the Weasley Twins and their friend Lee, her eyes narrowing in suspicion "and just what have you three been up to?".

The three of them exchanged bemused looks before Fred said "you wouldn't believe us if we told you Professor".

Professor McGonagall shook her head wearily and said "very well but all of you disperse".

Once the rest of the students had dispersed the three boys made their way for the stairs and all of them said "that was a good prank".

"Wonder where they got the idea?" George mused.

Once the three boys had gone, the New Marauders came out of their cover and high fived each other feeling ecstatic "that must be the most unique prank we pulled since that stunt with the clowns" Ron said feeling a bit breathless from laughing so much.

"We'll need to be alert now" Harry warned them all "we know Fred, George and Lee are no slouches and after this they'll thinking up a way to top it".

The day after their prank the New Marauders were all very much on edge as they kept an eye for the retaliatory prank to be played by the three they had pranked the day before.

As with Fred, George and Lee the previous day, none of the New Marauders accepted sweets or anything else from the three older boys and all of them had the feeling that it was only a matter of time before the prank would be pulled.

They didn't know how right they were.

They also didn't think to check the food on their plates at the Gryffindor table. Why would they? it wasn't as if anyone would be likely to put a spell on the food was it?.

Of course they were forgetting the very prank they had pulled by putting spells on the food of several House tables before this.

The truth was of course that none of the New Marauders considered the possibility of their opponents doing such a thing as it had already been done.

It happened at lunch time in the Great Hall. After all of the New Marauders had either eaten something or drunk something they each felt an odd sensation of if something was pulling at them.

All of them dismissed it as being on edge over the prank and gave it no second thoughts.

If they had so bothered to do, what happened next most probably wouldn't have.

Without warning, Ginny who was seated next to Harry turned into a dwarf. Harry gaped in amazement.

She had been turned into Sneezy from the Disney film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Harry couldn't believe it.

He didn't even know that Fred and George had seen the film. Then it hit him 'Lee's half-blood, he must have shown them the film'.

Harry could have kicked himself for his stupidity.

A second after Ginny came Neville transforming into Dopey who began to bump into things and talk daft.

This was followed by Hermione turning into Grumpy and proceeding to complain about everything from the food to people's appearances and beyond.

Ron turned into Sleepy and as the name suggests he promptly fell asleep, snoring loudly.

Head turned in their direction and those half-blood and muggle-born students began to laugh uproariously at the hilarity that was prevailing.

When many had explained it to their pure-blood friends most of them began to laugh heartily as well at the cleverness of it all.

Then came Luna who became Happy and couldn't stop enthusing and joking about everything as Draco became Bashful and true to the film he blushed madly hiding his face in embarrassment.

It didn't long for Harry to change either as he became Doc the appointed leader of the Seven Dwarfs, pot bellied and with a smiling face.

He looked at himself in shock and tried to say something only for his words to come out all muddled "happened what?" he said.

He shook his head and tried again "happen this how did?" he said.

"No oh!" he exclaimed.

Then before he and the other New Marauders could stop themselves they began to dance around the Great Hall, whistling and singing "Hi Ho" as most of the students clapped along, cheered or laughed according to their personalities.

The New Marauders completed two circuits of the hall before there was a flash of light and the spell wore off.

Despite feeling intensely embarrassed at having just been turned into the Seven Dwarfs the group laughed along with the others and nodded in acknowledgement of the ingeniousness of the prank which was one they were sure hadn't been played before.

After this there were two more weeks after this for pranks at which point Christmas would have arrived and the prank war would be unable to resume until they returned to Hogwarts.

The last two pranks in the prank war before Christmas escalated in scale and amusement as the Twins and Lee were turned into birds and ended up singing loudly and they then retaliated by turning the New Marauders into Wombles forcing them to clear plates, pick up litter and sing "remember your a Womble and Wombling Merry Christmas" for the delight of many students.

The independent judges of the prank war, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan decided as Christmas arrived, that it was honours even until the resumption of the pranking in the new year.

It was also decided by the New Marauders and Fred, George and Lee to have one more prank each when they returned to Hogwarts.

They would given each other a whole month to plan the best prank they could and an overall winner of the prank war would be chosen with the winning group receiving an inflatable cup that looked a lot like the Quidditch Cup.

* * *

The Autumn term finally came to an end at Hogwarts on the 21st of December which was a Thursday.

Following the end of classes that day, everyone began to pack for the train journey back to Kings Cross Station the next morning.

Hermione of course, had already packed most of her things a week before, organised as ever and had managed to convince her boyfriend Ron to do the same after much cajoling.

The next morning all of the students, escorted by Professors including Hagrid, headed down in carriages or walked from the gates of Hogwarts to Hogsmeade Station.

It took some time to get there as the snow was very deep in many places and a lot of the time had to be cleared away by evaporation or drying spells from the Professors.

The students laughed and joked and chattered away happily about the end of the term and Christmas.

Harry himself was very much looking forward to Christmas this year and being able to spend all of it with his family back at the Manor.

Last year of course, he and all of the others had had to stay at Hogwarts on Christmas Day for the Yule Ball, only being allowed a brief visit home for opening presents and lunch with their family before returning late afternoon for the ball itself.

As Harry helped his friends, girlfriend and siblings to get their trunks and cages on board alongside his own, his thoughts turned to Christmas Day.

He couldn't imagine what his family could be getting him by way of presents as he had practically everything he needed.

'I don't mind if they don't get me anything this year' Harry decided to himself as he settled into a seat by the window and felt Ginny rest her head on his shoulder.

He knew they would of course but for him the best present of all would be seeing his Parents and Sirius, Janice, Peter, Celia and David, the Twins, Remus and Tonks who Harry was pleased to have learnt was still in a relationship with Remus despite his up and down moods and his declarations that her life with a werewolf would not be a happy one.

Not long after the train began to pull away from Hogsmeade Station Harry and Hermione left their friends to head to the Prefects carriage where they got instructions from the Head Boy and Head Girl and went off to patrol the corridors.

The train journey passed quickly as Harry and Hermione alternated between patrolling, helping First Years and talking with their friends.

At various points the Weasley Twins and Lee Jordan, Molly and Lucius Nott showed up to say hello and hang out.

The Weasley Twins were nervous about being potentially pranked so did not stay long.

The sky outside was pitch black when the train chugged into Kings Cross Station alongside platform 9 and 3/4.

Once the train had pulled to a stop Harry got his luggage down from the train and helped everyone else with theirs as well.

By the time Harry, Molly, Draco and their friends were standing on the platform with their luggage a voice called out happily "here they are" and soon Sirius, Remus, Peter and Molly Weasley were standing in front of them.

Mrs Weasley gave all of the children her usual bone crushing hug by way of welcome and said as she looked a them all "you all need feeding up a bit more, you're looking peaky".

The children all grinned at this as Mrs Weasley always felt they needed feeding up more, even Ron who never seemed to stop eating.

Harry, Draco and Molly all embraced their father/uncles and then the adults helped the students get their luggage onto the trolleys they had brought over.

As Harry walked alongside Draco and Sirius pushing his trolley along he asked "Padfoot, where are Mum and Dad?".

Without stopping Sirius replied "they're both really busy at work, you know how busy Christmas can be at St Mungo's" he said with a grin.

Harry grimaced at that feeling sorry for his mother. He had been to St Mungo's a few times on take your children to work day and had seen first hand just how much his Mum had to put up with on a daily basis.

He had been left feeling that if his mother had not liked her job so much, she would have already resigned.

"Your Dad, Frank and Arthur are all busy at the Ministry" Sirius explained "there have been a lot of incidents against Muggles and Muggle-borns involving dark wizards" he said scowling.

"You mean Deatheaters right?" Harry said.

Sirius nodded "they're planning something but we don't know what as we have no one in the enemy camp".

These words made Harry think about his Uncle Severus who had previously been a Deatheater. He paled "if Voldemort returns he'll summon Uncle Sev won't he" he said as a lead feeling settled in his stomach.

As they reached the barrier between the Magical and Muggle world Sirius replied "it's a certainty and when it happens he'll need a good reason as to why he helped you in your First Year".

"Isn't there some way of removing the mark?" Harry asked plaintively.

Sirius shook his head "nothing like it has ever been used before" he said sadly "it's an invention of Voldemort which means there's nothing in books about it".

It was a long drive down to Devon and the Fifth Year students and Molly all fell asleep while Fred and George chatted with Remus and Peter.

They pulled into the yard of The Burrow late that night at ten thirty.

It was a good thing that the yard was well lit up as the sky was dark and cloudy.

The tired group of students trudged into The Burrow and found Celia, David, Mr Weasley, Mr and Mrs Longbottom, Janice, James, Lucy and Mr and Mrs Granger all waiting for them to welcome them back to Devon.

The students received hugs and kisses, had their hair ruffled and were sat down at the enlarged dining table when a sumptuous supper had been provided as a welcome back.

There was roast beef and roast pork, both crispy and new potatoes, mountains of stuffing and every kind of vegetable imaginable with vast boats filled with both chicken gravy and onion gravy.

The students were hungry enough that they attacked the food on their plates with gusto. The adults ate slower casting amused glances at the younger witches and wizards.

There was very little chat around the table as supper progressed with the only sounds being the scraping of plates, cutting up and eating of food.

Once the main meal was finished a dessert of caramel cake with fresh cream was provided which they also ate vigorously.

Once the food had been consumed it was time to head back to their various homes so the students and David said goodbye to Ron, The Twins, Percy and Ginny with Harry giving Ginny a kiss and a promise to see her the next day.

When Harry arrived back at Marauder Manor by floor alongside the rest of his family he felt very happy but also very tired and was ready to get to bed.

After saying goodnight to everyone else he headed upstairs, brushed his teeth, said goodnight to Dobby, Tipper and Molter and turned in for the night.

He switched on his bedroom light and pulled shut the curtains he had left open back in September.

He yawned as he sat down on his bed and kicked off his shoes.

He was so tired that he didn't bother to change into his pyjamas and merely fell asleep on top of his covers as he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Not long after Harry had fallen asleep his Parents who were already on their way to their own room decided to stop by.

Lucy kissed him on the forehead. James stroked his hair and the two left the room, switching off the light and closing the bedroom door.

Their boy was alright.

* * *

Harry would never be sure if it was the heavy food, the excitement of the day or his general tiredness that had brought it on but that night as he slept deeply he found himself in a horrible dream.

He found himself staring about an old abandoned house.

It wasn't like the one he had been to before though like the manor house it was also very dusty and full of cobwebs.

He walked into one as he passed through a doorway and coughed and spluttered in surprise trying to clean it off.

He carried on walking through the house until he reached a rickety old wooden staircase which creaked with every step.

Harry didn't know why but as he walked he had a premonition of something very dark, very evil, being in the house.

He cast a look round the darkened house but saw nothing other than his shadow on the peeling walls.

He reached the top of the stairs and could hear faint voices.

The first one he could pick up with no trouble, he recognised it as Lord Voldemort the dark wizard who's existence had dogged his entire life "you must carry out the plan no later than June" Voldemort said in a harsh voice.

Harry could hear a voice reply but could not work out who was talking "it will be done my Lord. I will begin putting the plan into motion soon".

"Good, good" Voldemort murmured sounding satisfied.

Unbidden, Harry's feet continued to move along the landing to a door further down the landing.

When he reached it he detected another voice which sounded urgent "My Lord there is someone outside!".

"Open the door Mundungus, show him in" Voldemort said coldly.

Harry's heart near froze in terror as the door creaked open and he found himself walking into the room "what are you doing?" he asked his feet.

"Stop!".

They kept moving and he soon found himself face to face with a figure in a bundle of robes. It was what was left of Voldemort.

"Harry Potter, we meet again" he said coldly.

Harry saw another wizard whose face was covered up "grab him" Voldemort instructed.

The unknown wizard nodded and moved to grab Harry who tried to run.

He was punched in the stomach and as he doubled over in pain Voldemort said "Nagini, strike".

Harry recoiled in horror as a large snake reared up and struck out at him.

It struck several times before Voldemort called out "enough. Nagini, to me".

The snake moved to the dark wizards side and Voldemort laughed cruelly as he pointed his wand "and now you die young Potter".

Harry couldn't scream, he couldn't run. He couldn't do anything. His body was paralysed in absolute terror as Voldemort cried out "Avada Kedavra!".

He crumpled to the floor.

* * *

James Potter was awakened from his happy dream by someone shaking him roughly.

"Wha...what...who?" he stammered as he sat upright.

He saw his wife's worried face "Lulu, what is darling?" he asked in concern.

"I heard loud screaming from Harry's room. I think he's having a nightmare again" she said as tears formed in her eyes.

James immediately got up from the bed and threw on his dressing gown.

Once he had done up the cord he exited the room alongside his worried wife.

Truth be told James was very worried himself but he was making sure to keep it in check and be strong for her.

They headed down the landing to Harry's room and knocked on the door. The only response they got was Harry screaming "no! no! no!".

James threw the door open and he and Lucy ran to Harry's side as other residents of the house began to congregate on the landing.

Draco and Sirius pushed their way through and rushed towards Harry's side where Lucy was holding Harry's hand and weeping while James was shouting urgently "Harry!. Harry wake up!".

James now had tears in the corners of his eyes as he shook Harry gently hoping to wake him "Harry please wake up, it's your Dad. You're safe!".

Draco reached James' side and said "let me try Uncle Prongs".

James reluctantly moved the side thinking that if anyone could help Harry it would be his twin.

Draco put a hand to Harry's head and closed his eyes.

The images he saw in Harry's head were truly frightening.

It was the same image over and over again of Harry walking up the stairs, hearing voices and being pulled into a room face to face with Voldemort who killed him.

Before Draco knew what was happening he was standing next to Harry as his brother entered the old house.

He couldn't interact with Harry until they reached the stairs.

Harry stopped, turned and jumped in shock "what are you doing here Draco?" he asked sounding confused as well as scared.

Draco put a hand on his shoulder "Harry this is only a dream, you know that right?".

"Then how do I know you're really you?" Harry asked suspiciously.

Draco wasn't sure what to say "I don't know how to prove it to you except to plead with you to open your eyes and to stop going up the stairs. What's up there will only make you more scared. You need to open your eyes".

"I don't know how!" Harry howled miserably.

Draco could tell his brother was terrified not just of the dream itself but of being stuck there.

"Come here" he said and put his hands to Harry's temples.

Draco was soon jumping back as Harry shot up out of his sleeping position looking wild eyed and staring about.

Harry's face was soaked in sweat as were his clothes.

"Argh!" he cried out putting a hand to his scar which felt like it was on fire.

"My poor boy!" Lucy wailed and grabbed him in a bone crushing hug.

It took a lot to settle Harry down after that but eventually he relaxed more.

When his family had gone he realised that he could remember nothing of the dream except Voldemort.

He went to turn his light off to go back to sleep but his hand hovered uncertainly over the cord.

He changed his mind deciding to keep the light on.

He didn't sleep a wink that night.

* * *

Christmas was much better after that night and Harry enjoyed himself immensely once he had completed all of his homework.

He was woken early on Christmas Day by the feeling of something bouncing up and down on top of his bed.

When he opened his eyes the image in front of him was blurry.

Harry slipped on his glasses and found himself staring at his younger brother David who was grinning widely "it's Christmas Harry!" he shouted happily "get up, c'mon!".

Harry chuckled and grabbed his brother "wake me up early will ya?" he said jokingly "I think that merits a...tickling!".

"No!" his brother shrieked as he began to tickle him "no, Harry!" his brother giggled happily "no tickling!".

"Who's tickling who?" Molly asked from the doorway where her and Draco were standing both looking very amused "I'm tickling Mr Wake Up Early" Harry replied with smirk.

"Oh is that so?" Molly said "in that case I think someone else deserves a tickle" she said with a smirk.

Harry's eyes widened "no" he said shaking his head "no, you know how ticklish I get".

"I know" she grinned evilly and ran across the room.

Harry tried to run but she caught him and tickled him mercilessly "hang on brother mine I shall save you!" Draco declared as he struck a valiant post.

Molly was soon being hit with a pillow in an effort to get her off of Harry.

David, seeing this, grabbed a pillow himself and shouted "I'll save you my lady!". He began to whack Draco with a pillow.

Soon all four of them had pillows and were hitting each other as it devolved into a four way pillow fight.

The pillow fighting end as Draco's stomach started to rumble.

Everyone else dropped their pillows and laughed "are you sure you aren't related to Ron" Harry said chuckling.

Draco playfully smacked him on the shoulder and the four happy siblings generally decreed it a good idea to head downstairs for breakfast.


	43. Chapter 43

Disclaimer: The whole Potterverse belongs only to JK Rowling

* * *

Chapter Forty Three: Prank War Conclusion, Quidditch, Animagi Practise

The Christmas holidays passed with much fun and merriment.

On Christmas Day Harry, the rest of the Marauder Clan, Hermione, her parents, the Weasleys and Luna and her parents visited Longbottom Manor for much of Christmas morning and for the afternoon including a lunch of turkey sandwiches and fun and games.

Harry, the rest of the New Marauders, Molly, David and Fred and George spent a whole hour in a snowball fight and another hour making snowmen.

That evening the Marauder Clan hosted a Christmas party at the Manor with all of their friends and family present and after a scrumptious Christmas feast everyone gathered round the piano in the drawing-room and they sang Christmas carols long into the night.

New Years Eve saw everyone attending a party at The Burrow with much food and drink provided with alcohol and for the adults and butter beer and juice for the students.

When the grandfather clock in the Weasley family living room chimed midnight everyone present at the party joined hands, sang Auld Lang Syne and wished each other a happy new year.

On the 2nd of January David had his eighth birthday party at which Sirius dressed up as a clown and performed a whole funny routine including riding a unicycle, Remus performing magic tricks and a punch and judy show.

On the 6th of January which was a Saturday, Harry and the other Hogwarts students returned with all of the other students on the Hogwarts Express.

When they returned to the castle and found themselves in the Great Hall for a welcome back feast, Harry felt as though he had never been away from beloved school which was one of his three favourite places in the entire world.

The same evening that they returned Harry called a meeting of the New Marauders to order as he felt it time to properly plan their final prank in the pranking war with Fred, George and Lee.

"Ok start giving me ideas people" Harry said as he gestured to Hermione who took out a quill and parchment.

"Why don't we use a spell to remove their clothes?" Neville suggested.

"We could add another spell which would make them wear a dress and heels and be unable to stop gossiping if they try to reverse it" Draco added.

Everyone else liked the prank idea and offered more ideas to improve it further.

A week later on the 13th of January the prank idea was all set up.

The night before the prank was to be carried out Harry and the rest of the New Marauders stayed up late in the Gryffindor common room as Fred, George, Lee and the rest of the Gryffindor's headed for bed.

Ginny and Luna had waited by the stairs to the dormitories and had given the thumbs up once the last student had entered their dorm room.

Once everyone else was gone the New Marauders had worked feverishly for much of the night getting the spells in place.

In order to ensure that it only targeted Fred, George and Lee they had researched specific spells that would target only select people by mouthing the incantation near the target and pointing the wand at them.

That morning of the 13th of January the New Marauders had got up very early, gone for their jog, had an early breakfast in the kitchens and were currently waiting for their three prank targets to appear in the common room.

None of them could keep the wide grins from their faces and Harry had been asked more than once by his fellow Gryffindor's just why he looked so happy that morning.

He lied and said it was because the sky was unusually blue and bright that day.

At around nine thirty am the three prank targets of Fred, George and Lee could be seen descending the steps into the common room.

They seemed to be deep in conversation about something "I'm telling you Lee" said George "setting up your own business is the way to go".

"Dear Forge is right Lee" said Fred "come into business with us, you don't need to put any money in just work on the money side of things, you're great with sums".

"Please Lee, we'll pay you as much as we get ourselves and you'll be a partner".

Lee seemed to be considering and said "I'll think about it guys that's all I can promise".

Harry's eyes sparkled with delight as Fred, George and Lee entered the common room.

The students who were sat or stood around talking or doing homework all seemed to be temporarily incapable of doing anything as they howling with laughter at the sight of the three Seventh Year boys.

Many were pointing at them and this seemed to confused the three boys "what on earths gotten into everyone today?" Lee asked his two friends who shrugged and looked around as confused as he was.

Then one of them noticed "hey Fred you're wearing a dress!...and heels!" George shouted.

"What!" Fred exclaimed looking down at himself.

He quickly saw that his brother was telling him the truth and he was at a loss for words.

"So are you!" Lee shouted at George.

"And you as well!" the Twins shouted at Lee.

The three of them looked round the room and their eyes soon fixed on the group of New Marauders who sat clustered around the fireplace whistling innocently.

"It was you wasn't it!" Fred demanded.

"Maybe" Ron said with a grin.

"What if it was?" said Luna.

"Please give us the spell to remove it" Lee pleaded.

The New Marauders winked at each other and then Draco said "well...I guess we could".

The group showed the three boys how to remove the spell and Fred, George and Lee duly performed it in attempt to fix things.

Unfortunately for them with such a particular spell it only wears off after a set amount of time which meant the incantation would have the reverse effect in the meanwhile.

To their horror the three boys could not stop themselves from putting their hands on their hips and gossiping in the middle of the common room like several middle aged women gossips much to the amusement of everyone else and the evident delight of the New Marauders.

The spell mercifully wore off by that afternoon and when it did Fred, George and Lee told the New Marauders with identical evil grins "and now it's our turn".

Despite feeling very nervous about what prank the three Seventh Years would pull, Harry also felt rather intrigued by it as he wondered what could top their fantastic prank of the previous month when they had turned Harry and the others into Wombles in a very unique piece of magic.

By the 19th of January, which was a Friday, all of the New Marauders were on edge as they waited for the retaliatory and final prank of the prank war between Fred, George and Lee and the New Marauders.

In truth the seven of the had been expecting ever since the 13th and had been surprised when it had still not happened.

All through the morning as Harry and the others exercised and attended classes, at lunch and during afternoon classes they waited for the prank.

As it happened the prank did not take place at dinner time which was when they had been most expecting it.

They turned in that night after wishing each other good night, that's when it happened.

To start with Harry could feel wriggling in his bed and then something or rather, several somethings began to bounce around under the covers.

When Harry moved them back he found a large number of frogs hopping about his bed.

Shouts of "argh and oh my god and what the hell!" sounded from Ron, Draco and Neville and told him that they too had the amphibians on their mattresses.

Harry, Draco, Neville and Ron moved from their beds to the centre of the room and seemed to trip over some invisible wire.

They were doused on freezing cold water "what..." Harry began to say but never got a chance to finish his question as a large number of slimy somethings fell onto his head and several slipped down inside his pyjamas "argh, oh!" Harry exclaimed trying to shake them loose.

Ron, Neville and Draco were doing the same while Dean and Seamus howled with laughter.

Voices from the doorway told Harry that other people had suffered the same thing "they've pranked us all!" Hermione said loudly.

That next day which was a Saturday found virtually the whole of Gryffindor House waiting in their common room as Dean and Seamus stood near the staircases with the Prank War participants.

They held aloft the inflatable prank cup trophy and with help from Parvati Patil called everyone's attention to them "thanks Parvati" Dean said causing her to smile.

'Interesting...' Harry thought to himself. He'd seemed the attraction between Dean and Parvati for the past few months and wished Dean would ask her out already 'I'll have to get Seamus' help to convince him' he decided.

"It was a very close call in the end" Dean said with a smile "but we felt that nothing could top the dancing flamingos prank".

Dean nodded to Seamus with a grin and Seamus nodded back with one just as big.

Seamus picked up the inflatable trophy "it gives me great pleasure to name the New Marauders the winners of this Prank War!" he said loudly and jovially as he shook their hands.

The New Marauders were beaming with happiness as Seamus and Dean shook the hands of Fred, George and Lee "no hard feelings fellas?" he asked cautiously.

the three older boys all grinned "none at all" they said at once.

They shook the hands of all the New Marauders and Fred commented "that was your best prank so far, turning us into flamingos".

Harry and the rest beamed at the praise.

Especially Harry and Draco. The pair of them might well be the son's of two of the Marauders and nephews to the others but they had long since acknowledged to Fred, George and their friend Lee were some of the best pranksters the two of them had ever had the fortune to meet.

Indeed, they had got on so well with the older three boys that they had been gifted a number of prank ideas on the understanding that they didn't use them against the original creators.

* * *

The rest of January went by happily but busily for Harry so caught up was he with a more intense Quidditch practise schedule, Prefect duties, the Defence Association and school work.

Each day at breakfast Hermione, who subscribed to the Daily Prophet, read to them the worsening situation for half-bloods and many Muggle-born witches and wizards.

The Minister had passed several laws that made life harder for hags, werewolves and most especially centaurs.

Rumour had it that the whole campaign of oppression was being driven by the Ministers secretary one Dolores Jane Umbridge.

* * *

As February began no new snow fell but it lingered on throughout the grounds kept in place by the perpetually freezing weather which was always many degrees below.

In spite of the snow Harry and the other New Marauders continued their jogs around the grounds every morning before breakfast and complete several other exercises including push ups and step ups in the Room of Requirement which they asked to be like a gym.

Harry was kept so busy these days that he didn't have much time to hang out with Ginny much to his regret.

He and Hermione were still running the Hogwarts Defence Association, there were there Prefect duties, revision for exams coming up in June and Quidditch practise.

The Quidditch practise especially was taking up much time with the team practising every day of the week by this point, spending one hour each night on school days and spending most of the day on weekends at the Quidditch stadium going over tactics, honing skills and ensuring the continuation of Ron's high confidence that he had gained after the Quidditch match against Slytherin.

Today however, was a special day, it was Valentine's Day and Harry was determined to make some time this evening for Ginny that would be just between them.

Harry felt rather frustrated at the fact that it was a school day as it meant he couldn't spend the whole day with the girl he loved but even so he was able to rig up a few things in the Room of Requirement as classes ended that day.

He'd managed to get a note to her by way of her fellow Fourth Year Gryffindor Colin Creevey who Harry promised to take a picture with for helping him.

At five pm Harry heard footsteps as he was putting the finishing touches on the room. He turned around and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of Ginny.

His girlfriend was wearing the same beautiful dress she had worn the previous year at the Yule Ball and was also wearing a pair of smart black heels.

She had some eye shadow on and lipstick but otherwise was wearing no makeup. Her hair was cascading down her shoulders just as Harry liked to see it.

She was smiling as she stared round the room "my god Gin Gin" Harry breathed in awe "you look even more beautiful than usual".

She sauntered across the room to him and kissed him deeply. As she looked down at the suit he was wearing "you don't look too bad yourself Har Har" she replied with her new nickname for him.

Harry went over to an old fashioned gramophone and put on a record. It crackled into life and the first notes of the song could be heard.

Ginny's smiled broadened as she recognised it "my favourite song" she said appreciatively.

The singer began to sing "Blue Moon you saw me standing alone".

Harry took her hand and they began to dance "without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own".

They swayed to the music lost to everything but the scent of each others skin and the pounding of their hearts.

It was as if they had been transported to another dimension such was the beauty of the song.

"I love you so much my beautiful Gin Gin" Harry said breathily.

"I love you my Har Har" she replied just as breathily.

They kissed deeply as they continued to dance and Harry felt that he would never want to be anywhere else ever again and would have been content to stay here with Ginny.

* * *

It was now the 17th of February, a Saturday and time for Gryffindor's second Quidditch match of the season which was to be against Hufflepuff.

The day began cold as usual for a February day in the Scottish highlands and the weather only got worse as the morning went on.

First came the fog which was so thick you could cut it with a knife and forced Harry and the New Marauders to jog around inside the castle instead of their usual morning routine.

Then as Harry and the others were sat in the Great Hall eating their breakfast the sounds of rain pelting down fiercely outside.

Harry looked at the long windows behind the Staff table and sighed heavily. He was not looking forward to playing today if this weather was to keep up.

Harry looked over to Ron who was on his right hand side and was surprised to see that his best friend was not eating anything but merely picking over the meagre food he'd placed on his plate.

It seemed the bad weather was getting to Ron...of course it could also be the fact that almost everyone in Gryffindor House was cheering Ron on expecting another incredible performance as had been the one against Slytherin.

"Oh god!" Ron moaned as he began to bang his head on the hard wood of the table.

"Ron stop that!" Hermione chided as she prevented him from banging his head again "that won't make you feel better it will just give you a bad headache or a concussion".

Ron stopped banging his head but still seemed to be very much in the doldrums.

Harry knew he had to do something to cheer his friend up and so asked "how about wizards chess? we've got enough time till the match".

Ron shrugged "if you want" he said noncommittally.

Harry looked at both Hermione and Ginny and nodded urgently.

They both got the message immediately and began to goad Ron into it "if you don't think you can beat him..." Ginny commented with a grin causing him to look up sharply.

"Yeah if you think he's going destroy you we understand you not wanting to compete".

The rest of the New Marauders also caught on quickly and began to add their own comments.

It seemed that all of these comments worked as Ron finally said "of course I can beat him!".

"Oh yeah?" said Harry with a smirk "prove it".

"And when you've faced him you can face me and then Neville" Draco declared with a grin.

"Alright I will!" Ron shouted "I'll show you!" he said fiercely to Harry "I'll show all of you!".

As they finished their breakfast Angelina walked over to them "Harry, Ron, team talk half an hour before the match" she told them.

Harry didn't mind that as the match today had been moved to two pm so they not only had some time to hang out but also would have the opportunity to have lunch.

"We'll be there Angelina" Harry assured her with a smile.

Angelina looked satisfied. She nodded and left the Great Hall.

As Harry and the New Marauders exited the Great Hall he gave most of them a grin as Ron walked on in front of them looking determined and no longer depressed.

As they headed up the staircase thunder began to boom out across the grounds angrily.

When they reached the common room and Ron began to assemble his wizards chess set Harry looked out of the window at the rain that was hammering down.

Nearby he could see violent flashes of lightning and he swallowed hard.

He seriously hoped that the weather would improve by two pm...or that in the very least he could manage to catch the snitch early as he did not want to be out for long in such horrendous and dangerous weather.

Harry turned away from the window and headed over to the coffee table in front of the fireplace where Ron had, by now, set up the chess set.

The pieces were muttering and looking at each other aggressively looking very much ready for a match.

Harry sat down and took his place in front of the white chess pieces "the weathers getting worse out there" he remarked as he thought about his first move.

"Is it really safe to hold a chess match in this weather?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Ron made his first move "well they held one when Dementors were guarding the grounds" Draco pointed out.

The match itself went on for a bit longer than it would have previously as Harry had been taking chess lessons from his brother Draco but the match was essentially a foregone conclusion as the superior strategist and chess player Ron managed to checkmate Harry's Queen and end the game.

Harry shook hands with him "sharp as ever mate" he said with a smile and moved away from the chess board which Draco took position at.

Once all of the chess pieces were reassembled a new game began.

This match was much more evenly matched as almost every one of the chess games had ever been between Ron and Draco.

Not only were they both master strategists they were also master chess players and had managed to beat several people twice their age who were good at chess.

The game of chess was so fascinating and went on for so long that much of Gryffindor House had crowded round and was watching as Draco made a rare mistake leaving his King open. Ron took the chance and said "checkmate".

Draco looked disappointed at having made such an amateur mistake after playing chess for nine years but he shook Ron's hand and said with sportsmanlike conduct "good game Ron, I'll look forward to the next one".

Ron nodded and grinned happily as he packed away the chess set and returned it to their dorm room.

* * *

That afternoon Harry and the rest of the New Marauders had lunch in the Great Hall but the weather was such that Harry didn't feel like eating very much save for a ham sandwich.

Ron, in contrast, was eating furiously as if he'd not eaten anything in weeks.

At half past one Harry and Ron said goodbye to the rest of the New Marauders and Harry's sister Molly who wished them good luck for the match.

As they walked down through the grounds over the sloping lawns and all the way to the Quidditch stadium through the pouring rain, booming thunder and furiously flashing lightning Harry noted that his best friends previously depressed mood seemed to have changed completely and Ron looked more confident than Harry had ever seen him.

They got changed in almost total silence and then crowded round as Angelina began to speak "alright guys, I know the weather is absolutely horrendous and I know that you'd all prefer to be inside the castle right now" the Twins exchanged looks that said they agreed fully with this sentiment but Ron said "I wouldn't, I'm all in!".

Angelina beamed at these words and the confidence in their Goalkeepers voice "but I expect all of you to do your very best as I will and to take it to the Hufflepuff's, we will show those badgers what a group of lions can do!" she shouted.

They gathered into a huddle and Angelina said "on three, one, two, three...Gryffindor!".

"Gryffindor!" they bellowed at the top of their voices.

Once Angelina and the Twins had cast charms to keep the teams robes dry and and an Impervious Charm to keep rain from Harry's glasses, the team left the changing rooms, Angelina in the lead and were met with a roar of noise.

It seemed that even the horrendous weather could not keep away the Quidditch hungry residents of Hogwarts castle as virtually all of the students from every house was in the stands as were most of the Professors.

Many had umbrellas up but even so they looked happy as ever to see Quidditch.

Harry flicked his eyes up to the Gryffindor section and saw the rest of the New Marauders and his sister Molly and her friends plus Dean and Seamus.

They were all grinning at him widely.

Ginny blew him a kiss and gave him such a look of love that his heart melted. He blew a kiss back to her and grinned as they held two banners aloft between them.

The first one said: "Harry, Harry, he's our man, if he can't catch it no on can!" flashing brightly in red and orange letters and included a photograph of Harry from the last match holding in his fist the snitch.

Harry nodded in appreciation of the banner and threw a thumbs up to Colin Creevey for the photo.

Colin turned bright red at having his hero acknowledge him and began to chatter excitedly with his younger brother Dennis.

The other banner said proudly: "Weasley is our King, he'll never let the quaffle in!".

Harry nudged Ron who turned to face him "hmm?" he said.

Harry gestured to the stands.

Ron looked up and gaped in surprise at the sight before him.

His momentary surprise was soon replaced by pure delight as he beamed at his friends, sister and House mates.

As Harry, Ron and the other Gryffindor team members prepared to sit astride their brooms the strains of "Weasley is our King!" could be heard defiantly from the Gryffindor section.

Angelina shook hands with the new Hufflepuff Captain cordially, Madam Hooch blew her whistle and fourteen brooms ascended into the air making for their various positions.

The balls were soon released by Madam Hooch who joined the action and then the game began.

Harry threw a thumbs up to Ron who nodded determinedly and Harry flew off to seek the snitch.

As Harry zoomed around the in the air above the stadium he came face to face with Ernie Macmillan his opposite number with whom he was quite friendly.

"Ernie" he said with a nod.

Ernie nodded back cordially "Harry" he replied.

The two sat there on their brooms for several moments before the snitch appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

The two of them turned from each other and began to pursue the small fast golden ball.

The match down below was very fierce as Harry could see.

In the face of a chance to get to the Quidditch final at the end of the season, the rest of the players on each team were resorting to desperate measures.

What didn't help with the scoring was the incredible skills and confidence of both Ron Weasley and his opposite number Justin Finch-Fletchley which ensured that neither side could get many goals.

The scores after half an hour were thus honours even at thirty goals apiece.

The crowd oohed and awed at the skills of each and every player and many seemed to be considering this as one of the best games yet seem this year.

Harry knew without having to look much that the skills of the Goalkeepers would ensure very few goals were scored per team and thus it would come down to himself and Ernie with whoever caught the snitch winning the game.

At one point after an hour Harry spotted the snitch and zoomed after it followed closely by the determined Ernie.

Harry was just inches away from it, he stretched out his hand to grab it...and Ernie bashed into him knocking him off course.

Harry resorted to the same tactic moments later as Ernie also tried to catch the golden ball.

By the time their little aerial duel was finished the snitch had vanished again.

The game dragged on as the scores remained stubbornly neck and neck.

By the time Harry saw the snitch again the score was ninety goals apiece, a tribute to the amazing skills of the Chasers on each team that they had managed to score given the abilities of each keeper.

Harry found that luck was with him as he saw the snitch. Ernie was nearby still scanning the skies for the elusive ball.

Harry seized his chance and flew after the ball as fast as his Firebolt would take him, zooming faster and faster, he could hear a broom now pelting after him and realised that Ernie had seen his actions, put two and two together and was pursuing the snitch also.

The two of them reached the centre of the pitch, Harry was just a little bit closer to the snitch than Ernie was. He extended his hand, found it not long enough and took a chance by standing up on his broom.

Ernie sped up but was too late as Harry's hand latched onto the snitch and he held it aloft.

Lee Jordan's joyful shout and the blowing of the whistle told him it was done "Harry Potter has caught the snitch!" Lee shouted over the roar of the Gryffindor's "Gryffindor wins!".

Harry grinned for a moment as Ernie swore. That's when it happened. He lost his footing on the narrow broom and began to fall.

He doubtless would have collided with the ground had Ernie not performed one of the most amazing aerial stunts ever.

The Hufflepuff raced to Harry's broom, seized it, flew down after Harry and swooped towards him as Harry kept falling.

Harry closed his eyes feeling convinced that this was the end for him.

He felt something grip his arm urgently and opened his eyes to find Ernie holding onto his arm with a firm hand "hold on Harry!" the other boy shouted.

Harry wanted to but knew he couldn't hold on forever.

Thankfully he was soon pulled onto another broom. He turned round and stared into the deeply worried face of Ron "I thought you were done for" his best friend said by way of greeting.

Harry shuddered, his heart racing as memories of the 2nd of August 1988 flashed through his mind.

"Get me down from here Ron, please" he said swallowing hard.

Ron said nothing merely nodding.

Harry turned to Ernie who was sat on his broom watching him in concern "Ernie you saved my life. I'm in your debt".

"There's no debt to pay Harry, you're a good guy" Ernie said shaking his hand.

"Still though I'd feel better to owe you one" Harry replied insistently.

"I'll tell you what Harry, if you keep me alive on any occasion we'll consider the debt repaid".

Harry nodded at this and Ron's broom began to descend to the ground.

The match over, the Gryffindor's surged onto the pitch to congratulate the team who would now almost certainly be in the final match that season.

Harry did not take part in the celebrations pushing through the crowd and into the changing rooms with Ron just behind him.

As he left the changing rooms later still feeling shaken up he felt someone throw their around him and heard crying.

He saw that Ginny was hugging him tightly as if she'd never let him go again "I was so worried!" she wailed "I thought I'd lost you!".

Harry hugged her back and kissed her forehead "I'll...I'll be alright Gin Gin" he tried to assure her shakily.

He realised his hands were shaking.

"Harry!" Hermione flew into his arms and hugged him as he let Ginny go.

Luna then hugged him "you need to be more careful!" she said seriously.

"I'll try" Harry assured her.

Molly hugged him next but was obviously too emotional to say anything while Draco laid a hand on his shoulder for support and rubbed their sisters back.

"I think ye all need some ground strong tea" a voice boomed out.

Harry looked up into the crinkled face of Hagrid the Hogwarts Gamekeeper.

"I think we all do truth be told" the large man said as he began to push Harry ahead of him, Harry's hand still holding Ginny's.

They spent the rest of the afternoon and the early evening chatting with Hagrid on various subjects from Quidditch to school work.

Fang laid his head in Harry's lap as if he'd know that Harry needed comforting and Harry had stroked the large dog feeling grateful to have such wonderful support after such a terrifying incident.

* * *

Time passed as February gave way to March, the snow melted, leaves began appear on trees once again and the grass took on a verdant green as flowers bloomed for as far as the eye could see.

Spirits rose as the temperature warmed up and the sky tended towards bright blues rather than the dull greys of the winter months.

As March began Harry had decided it was time to begin attempting to become an Animagus. He'd gotten the backing of all of the other New Marauders including, rather surprisingly, a sceptical Hermione who was not thrilled about breaking school rules.

On this particular day the 2nd of March it was a Saturday. Harry and the rest of the New Marauders got through their exercises and breakfast and Harry and Ron attended Quidditch practise which thankfully had lessened as the next Quidditch match not until the end of April.

At lunchtime they met up with the other New Marauders in the Great Hall.

Once lunch was over and done with they headed up to the Seventh Floor of the castle, passed by the statue of Barnabas the Barmy and walked three times in front of the wall opposite thinking hard.

A doorway appeared and the seven of them stepped in closing it firmly behind gratified to hear the noise as it disappeared.

Once everyone was seated on comfortable couches and armchairs Harry said "right, today is the day we begin our attempt to become Animagi".

Everyone was grinning. Even Hermione was smiling at this thought.

"I've looked up how to do it and it has to be wandless" Ron and Neville's faces fell at these words as neither were very good with wandless magic "don't worry you two" Harry assured them sensing how upset they were "we'll all help".

Once the two were happier Harry began his attempt.

He concentrated very hard in front of the mirror on a small change, giving himself fur.

He wasn't sure anything had happened until he heard people "oohing" and clapping in appreciation.

Harry opened his eyes and looked in the mirror. He was astonished but very pleased to see that his entire head was covered in dark fur except patches round the eyes and on the ears where light fur grew.

He had also managed to grow a nose of the same form and shape as a stag.

He turned around and there was more clapping and cheering at his accomplishment.

He managed to change back with not too much hassle and everyone else began lining up waiting their turn.

Luna, who was the next to step up, concentrated and soon found herself with the same fur as an owl and the same large owl like eyes.

Ron came next and soon had managed to transform his face into a lions complete with sharp lions teeth "bloody hell!" he said in clear amazement.

Draco came next and soon had managed to change his skin from normal human skin to be green, scaly and very slimy "very nice" he said admiring his skin appreciatively.

Ginny went next and concentrated as hard as she could on changing herself.

Harry stepped up next to her and found that she, like him, had been able to grow fur all over herself and had grown the same rounded nose that he expected she'd have given her form in the mirror.

Hermione went second to last and soon the group found themselves staring at a beautiful cat with fluffy brown fur and dark brown eyes.

Harry wasn't surprised to see that Hermione alone out of all of them had been able to transform in one go.

She wasn't called the greatest witch in their year by the other New Marauders for nothing after all.

He clapped and cheered along with the others at the full transformation causing Hermione, if it was possible for a cat, to blush deeply.

When she'd re transformed Hermione returned to the others and they all watched as Neville stepped up.

Neville's generally high confidence helped him and he managed to change his ears into large pointed wolf like ones as well as change his skin into fur with ease which earned him much applause.

* * *

Up in his office Professor Albus Dumbledore smiled widely to himself.

He knew he should have been angry with his students for attempting such a process but there was no real need to be. Not only were all them intelligent enough to understand the risks involved and to keep quiet about attempting such a thing, they were also such great witches and wizards that if anyone would be able to complete these Animagi transformations it would be the New Marauders.

He popped a lemon drop into his mouth and thought about what a shock it would be to Voldemort when he finally returned and to his Deatheaters when they saw what they thought to be animals, chasing after them ready to savage them.

He chuckled at the image of some of the more brutal Deatheaters being savaged.

'Yes' he thought to himself happily 'this is just the thing the light has needed'.

* * *

Authors Note: Hi all my readers and reviewers. Hope you enjoyed this latest chapter.

The next chapter will see a time jump and will involve April Fools Day pranks, exams, a surprise and a nightmare comes true.


	44. Chapter 44

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to the Harry Potter universe

* * *

Chapter Forty Four: April Fools Day, Exams and Bad Surprises

March turned April as early-Spring became mid-Spring and April Fools Day arrived.

For the first time in two months Harry and the rest of the New Marauders were pulling another prank in honour of the day.

More than that, they had enlisted the help of Peeves the Poltergeist to pull the prank which they were really looking forward to.

They had spent a whole week planning it and were very happy with the plans they had laid.

On the evening of the 1st of April they were laying in wait for their prank targets.

They had rushed their dinner and were hiding.

They all grinned widely as Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Crabbe and Goyle exited the Great Hall joking to each other as they made fun of several First Years they saw walking past.

The Slytherins turned left to head down the corridor and began to be pelted with numerous water balloons as a cackling Peeves zoomed round shouting "slimy slimy Slytherins!" at the top of his voice.

It was hard for the New Marauders to keep in their laughter as they watched and waited for the next part.

Hermione, Ginny, Draco, Harry and Neville had their wands out hovering over buckets of tar while Luna and Ron had theirs targeted over several batches of feathers that Hagrid, though puzzled, had given them.

"Now!" Harry called out as Peeves lobbed the last water balloon, did a loop de loop, flew off to the New Marauders and threw up a salute.

He waited as the buckets of tar fell onto the group of Slytherins and was followed closely by the feathers.

The New Marauders burst out into laughter as the Slytherins coughed and spluttered and tried to clean themselves off.

It was so funny that Luna, Ron and Neville found themselves rolling round on the floor banging their fists howling with laughter while Harry, Draco, Ginny and Hermione were doubled over with laughter holding onto pillars for support.

Peeves cackled with them for awhile, saluted and zoomed off. The New Marauders saluted him in gratitude for his help as they walked off still chuckling over the prank.

As the Easter holidays began that year information leaflets were distributed in the four House common rooms and on a table in the Great Hall on various careers that they might interested in as well as advice on how to get into said career.

Students were also informed about a careers meeting that would take place with their Head of House following the start of the Summer Term.

Harry's meeting with Professor McGonagall was scheduled for the 12th of April which was a Friday and it would take place shortly after lessons finished that day.

Thus it was that as the bell rang at the end of the last lesson which happened to be History of Magic, Harry grabbed his bag, said "see you later" to his friends and brother and headed off for the meeting with his Head of House which would be taking place in fifteen minutes.

It took some time to get from the main part of the castle to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Towers First Floor on which was situated Professor McGonagall's Office.

When he arrived he found that he was five minutes early.

He noticed that a chair had been set outside the office for waiting students so he sat down gratefully and tried to tidy himself up a bit as he waited.

He also felt nervous about waiting outside the office of his Head of House, it felt as though he had done something wrong even though it was a careers advice session.

As he straightened his tie he heard the office door open. He glanced down at his watch which said 16:45 pm. He smiled 'punctual as always Professor' he thought.

"Mr Potter" Harry looked up "I am ready" she said beckoning him into the office with a crooked finger.

He walked across the hallway and past the Professor into the small but comfortable office.

"Sit down Potter" Professor McGonagall said as she sat down in her desk chair.

Harry sat down and wasn't sure what to say to her.

Thankfully she spoke first "so Mr Potter first lets discuss which career you would like to go into after finishing here at Hogwarts, have you any thoughts as to what you'd like to do?" the stern Professor asked softly.

Harry considered the question for a moment before he finally answered "I have two I'd really be interested in pursuing".

Professor McGonagall nodded looking pleased that he had given the matter some thought "I see, go on Mr Potter".

"The first idea I had was to become a professional Quidditch player but that's actually a back up career" he said.

Professor McGonagall seemed surprised at this as her eyebrows rose "but you love Quidditch Mr Potter, what career could you possibly want to do more?".

Harry looked a bit nervous about answering "well...I know it sounds ridiculous...you'll tell me it's not possible...it's stupid" Harry rambled.

Professor McGonagall took note of his nervous rambling and held up a hand "Mr Potter...Harry, I will not tell you a career choice is stupid or ridiculous or not possible, anything is possible as far as magic goes" she told him kindly. She even gave him a rare smile which made him feel better and he smiled in return.

"What I'd really like to do Professor is..." he sighed and blurted out "teachDefenceAgainsttheDarkArts!".

Professor McGonagall looked confused at what he had said "I'm sorry Potter I'm afraid I didn't quite catch what you said".

Harry sighed again feeling stupid "I want to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts" he said feeling as though it were a foolish dream.

McGonagall's eyebrows rose again "I see" she said and then gave him another smile "well that isn't a stupid dream at all Harry" she chuckled "indeed I am surprised you are not aiming higher with your magical abilities".

Harry shrugged "I love the subject and I enjoy helping people learn in the Defence Association meetings" he explained.

McGonagall nodded as she began to write down everything Harry was saying "you are certainly good at teaching Harry, you have very good magical skills and you are well respected by many of the students".

"But it won't work Professor, there are bound to be more wizards or witches older, more experienced and wiser than me to take up the position" he said glumly.

The Professor shook her head "it's always been the one position here at Hogwarts that is difficult to fill so you have a good chance of being offered the position should you show interest" Harry was surprised but felt happy at these words "just look at Mr Diggory, I should say Professor Diggory, he turned eighteen in October and is already a Professor".

Professor McGonagall took several sheets of parchment out of a brown folder "now then, I see that you have Outstandings in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. You have Exceeds Expectations in Transfigurations and Exceeds Expectations in Herbology. You have Acceptable in Astronomy and a Troll in History of Magic" at this last subject grade she seemed to stifle a laugh.

She put down the sheet of parchment and looked searchingly at Harry "as you have shown interest in becoming Professor of Defence here at Hogwarts I think it safe to say you have got more than the required grades for such ambition".

Professor McGonagall scribbled down some notes and handed a copy to Harry "these are the subjects you should focus most on" she informed him.

Harry looked down at the sheet on which was written Defence Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, Potions and Charms.

"You don't need any grades as such" she told Harry "but any application to teach here will be looked upon more favourably by the Headmaster or Headmistress if you get a good grade in said subject and as long as you have a good understand of other areas of magic".

She chuckled as she looked at the subject grades again "I say again Mr Potter you don't need to worry about your grades as you are doing very well. As you can drop subjects from Six Year onwards I would recommend you drop History of Magic, Herbology, Transfiguration and Astrology as you an understanding of Transfiguration and Herbology are only necessary up to Sixth Year while Astrology and History of Magic will not be of any practical use only you plan on teaching those subjects or pursuing other careers".

Professor McGonagall stood up and Harry followed her.

She extended her hand and shook his "I think that ends our meeting Mr Potter and I hope to see you continuing to study hard for the your OWL's".

Harry smiled, said goodbye and left the office feeling very happy. Not only had Professor McGonagall not said it was stupid to hope to become a Professor but she had actively encouraged him.

His respect for her which had already been high before now grew even larger and he thanked whatever deity existed that she was his Head of House as he felt he couldn't wish for a better one.

* * *

The rest of April went along happily as the Gryffindor Quidditch team stepped up their training in practise for the third Quidditch match of the season against Ravenclaw.

Mid-way through the month on the 13th of April was a Saturday and Gryffindor played their third Quidditch match.

In comparison to the second match of the season against Hufflepuff, the game against Ravenclaw was a fairly one sided affair thanks to the skill of the Gryffindor Chasers, Ron's abilities in keeping out goals, the Beater abilities of Fred and George and Harry's hair raising flying skills which caused a stunning two hundred and fifty to forty victory which had left the Ravenclaws looking utterly crushed.

It was was now the beginning of June and the start of the O.W.L. exams.

Their first exam took place on Monday the 3rd of June and saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco and Neville taking part in a written exam on how defeat dark creatures such as Dementors in Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Your exam starts...now" Professor Diggory said as he set the timer for one hour "you have one hour, good luck" he said as he patrolled along the lines of desks in the hall.

As the exam went on Harry smiled to himself as he answered every single question in detail feeling confident of his answers.

He chanced a look over at Ron who he saw was panicking.

Hermione and Draco were both writing away confidently and Harry smiled to himself, he and those two had always been the best when it came to defensive magic.

One hour later the exam was over and the New Marauders exited the Great Hall along with the other students chatting away.

"Well I though that was easy" Hermione commented casually.

Ron holding her hand snorted "you always do love" he replied.

Hermione grinned.

"I think we'll pass just fine" Harry said happily.

The afternoon exam that day was History of Magic which Harry had no interest in at all.

The shame of it all was that if anyone other than Professor Binns had been teaching the subject he'd have tried a lot harder but Binns was such a boring teacher and taught so many of the same things over and over that Harry had no interest in learning about it and trying to pass.

Instead of that he spent much of the exam snoring as did Ron and Neville.

Only Hermione and Draco tried their hardest in that particular exam.

Harry for once lamented the fact that Binns was such a dull person.

That night Harry and the other New Marauders were enjoying their dinner and chatting about exams and the Quidditch final which was taking place that Saturday against Slytherin.

Harry had just started on his dessert when he was surprised to find Professor McGonagall approaching him along with Angelina Johnson the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain.

"Mr Potter we'd like a word with you" Professor McGonagall told him looking as severe as ever.

Her face made him examine his behaviour since April Fools Day for any incident in which he had broken the rules.

But could find nothing and realised that even if he had and was being punished for such a transgression it would have nothing to do with Angelina. Consequently he could think of nothing involving Angelina that would cause her to be part of any conversation between himself and McGonagall.

"Alright Professor" Harry said reluctantly putting down the spoon he was using to eat his chocolate trifle.

He stood up and said to the others "I'll see you guys back in the common room".

He then followed Professor McGonagall and Angelina out of the Great Hall.

They walked for a long while until reached the entrance to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower.

They then moved along a corridor until they reached a door which Professor McGonagall pushed open to reveal her rather snug office which was, as always, clean and tidy save for a piece of parchment.

"Take a seat Mr Potter" McGonagall said as she motioned for Angelina to sit down.

"Now as you know Mr Potter" McGonagall began "Angelina is leaving at the end of this school year and we need a new team Captain to take her place for the next year".

Harry nodded. This wasn't news to him as he knew Angelina was a Seventh Year "I understand Professor but what has it to do with me?" he asked feeling confused.

Professor McGonagall exchanged a look with Angelina "Miss Johnson are you sure about this?" she asked the older student with some amusement and a slight twitch of the mouth.

Angelina chuckled "as sure as anything I've ever been in my life Professor".

McGonagall nodded, reached into a stack of parchment and pulled out an envelope. She slid it down the desk to Harry who stared at it "what's this Professor?" he asked.

"Open it and see Potter" she said mysteriously.

Harry shrugged in acceptance and began to open the envelope which bore the official seal of Hogwarts School.

He noticed the intense expressions of both Angelina and the Professor as he pulled out a sheet of parchment.

He began to read it "Dear Mr Potter, as Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry it gives me Minerva McGonagall great pleasure to announce that it is the choice of Gryffindor Quidditch Captain Angelina Johnson and myself that you be named from September 1st the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain in Miss Johnson's place. This decision has been taken with the full agreement of Headmaster Albus Percival Brian Wulfric Dumbledore Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Head of the Dark Arts Defence League".

Harry gaped in shock at this announcement.

This was not at all what he'd been expecting when the two women had wanted to speak with him.

He looked up at them in surprise "this...I...this isn't a...joke...is it?" Harry asked in wonderment.

The two witches smiled "it's not a joke Mr Potter, you are to be the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain should you accept".

Harry looked down at the parchment "I...can't believe it" he said in amazement.

He looked back up at them "but...why not Ron?" he asked seriously.

The two witches looked at him sceptically "Ron is a nice enough boy" Angelina said delicately "but he isn't leadership material Harry".

"Neither am I" Harry said deprecatingly.

"What utter nonsense Harry" Angelina said forcefully "look at everything you've done in your life so far, you're the leader of a group of pranksters, you set up a defence group to help teach students defensive magic and you've got the confidence and patience to lead people. You are the perfect choice, do you accept?".

Harry considered for a moment before nodding.

"I accept the appointment" he said seriously as he shook Angelina and Professor McGonagall's hands.

They all stood up "now don't tell this to anyone Potter not even your friends" the Professor warned sternly.

"But what about my brother and sister?" he asked feeling upset. He didn't like keeping something from his siblings unless it was really serious.

Professor McGonagall nodded "I believe that would be acceptable so long as you say nothing about it to anyone else and they agree to keep it quiet".

Harry left the office and headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

As he walked he felt like he was floating on air. In his wildest dreams he could never have imagined that he'd be made Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

He reached the portrait hole in front of the entrance to the tower "password!" the portrait said.

"Godric's Sword" he replied clearly.

"You may enter" the portrait declared as it swung aside to admit him to the tower.

He climbed in through the portrait hole and entered the House common room.

A quick scan of the room found Draco, Ginny, Luna, Ron, Hermione and Neville all sitting round together.

The Fifth Years seemed focused on homework while Ginny and Luna appeared to be discussing something.

Harry smiled and walked over to them.

As he approached the sofa on which Draco sat he said "can I have a word brother mine?".

Draco glanced up from his homework, took a look at Harry's face, read his thoughts and nodded with a smile "of course brother mine" he replied.

As Draco got up Harry took a look around the room and was pleased to see that their remaining two dorm mates Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan were over with Parvati and Lavender chatting away about something or other "lets go up to our dorm" he suggested.

Draco nodded and followed as he set off for the staircase.

Once they were in the dormitory Draco shut the door began him "Alohamora" Harry called out followed by "Silencio".

Draco's eyebrows rose.

As soon as Harry felt satisfied that no one would be able to come in or overhear what he was about to say he said in an excited rush "I'vebeenmadeCaptainoftheGryffindorQuidditchteam!".

Draco would obviously know what he really meant due to their mental link and so Harry grinned and smacked his arm before saying more slowly and clearly "Angelina just named me Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team!".

Draco looked suitably surprised for a moment before this faux surprise gave way to a broad grin. He grabbed Harry in a bear like hug, so happy was he for his twin "that is such amazing news!" he exclaimed.

When he relinquished the hug he said "you'll make an excellent team Captain" he said enthusiastically "I just know it".

Harry grinned at this enthusiastic support "you'll be able to try out for the Chaser position next year as well" he said.

Draco also grinned "oh that's right!" he shouted "it's not just Angelina is it. Katie and Alicia are leaving in the summer too!".

When Harry and his brother returned to the common room some time later they were both grinning so widely that people asked them why.

They merely replied that they had been telling each other very funny jokes.

The rest of the week passed by with class work and exams in Herbology, Charms, Potions, Transfiguration, Astrology (which took place at midnight on Wednesday), Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes.

He felt he did very well in the subjects he enjoyed, namely Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures but was certain he'd done poorly in Herbology and Astrology which didn't really interest him all that much.

The Astrology exam was held at midnight on the Thursday and was one of the last exams. For several boring hours from midnight to five am the Fifth Years stood on top of the draughty Astronomy Tower charting the movements of the planets and noting the constellations.

It was even worse than the History of Magic exam in Harry's mind as he had at least with that been able to finish after an hour and it hadn't been taking place at midnight which Harry held to be the worst time possible to maintain concentration especially as they'd had a morning exam and had thus been up early that day.

When the students left the Astronomy Tower and headed for Gryffindor Tower that morning at five am Harry declared "that is one subject I will not miss doing one bit".

He received nods and grunts of agreement from the rest of the New Marauders who were mostly too exhausted to reply.

Hermione said thoughtfully but tiredly "it was interesting to do but I won't miss staying up until five o clock in the morning to study it".

When Harry and the others returned to Gryffindor Tower he, Ron, Neville, Draco, Seamus and Dean said goodbye to Hermione, Lavender, Parvati and the other Gryffindor girls and headed up the stairs to their dormitory.

Once inside they were all much too tired to get changed, simply falling onto their beds, yanking shut the hangings and falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Pretty soon the sound of six snoring teenagers filled the room.

* * *

That next day which was a Friday started out like any other day but it would not end like any other day.

Everything went normal when the New Marauders went round the grounds and performed their morning exercises.

Breakfast went along fine as usual with all them talking and laughing. All of them were glad that the pressure of exams would soon be over as today was the last day for exams with Care of Magical Creatures being the final exam for anyone taking the subject.

The exam itself was not until the afternoon which gave some time for the New Marauders to hang out together in the Room of Requirement so they spent their whole morning there working on last minute revision, playing wizards chess or exploding snap, talking about the holidays and what classes they were taking and what one's they were dropping for next year.

They also spent the time further working on their Animagus forms and by the time lunch arrived all of them had managed to change their heads into their animal form.

Draco got quite a nasty shock when he looked into the mirror and saw his snake head for the first time on his human body.

Everyone got a good laugh out of that, even Draco found it to be funny once he'd overcome the initial shock of it.

Lunch that day was a very noisy affair as all students celebrated the fact that the exams were to be finished after today and they would have a few weeks left to relax a little bit and enjoy what remained of the school term.

The exam for Care of Magical Creatures was to take place at two pm and as expected by all involved would take place outside of Professor Hagrids hut.

Harry was glad it was a nice sunny day but no so glad of the scorching heat.

"Any idea what we're doing in the exam?" Ron asked him as they walked side by side down the sloping lawns.

Harry shook his head "not a clue you know Hagrid. He always keeps lesson and exam ideas to himself".

They reached Hagrids cabin outside which there were already a group of Fifth Years clustered including all of the Slytherins.

Harry just about managed to keep his temper with Nott in check when Nott mad an insulting comment on Hagrid being late for his own exam.

After a few minutes Hagrid appeared from around the side of his hut leading a creature that few could actually see.

Harry could see it though, a thin skeletal body, a face with reptile like features and wide leathery wings that were just like a bats.

He had been able to see the Thestral's since Second Year when he and the other New Marauders had first taken the carriages up to the school as he had seen his birth Mother Lily being killed by the dark wizard and Harry's nemesis Voldemort when he was just over a year old.

"Well where is it?" Nott snorted "this really is embarrassing, if you're not going to give a proper exam I'm leaving" Nott turned to leave.

"Five points from Slytherin for your cheek Mr Nott" Hagrid said calmly but forcefully.

Nott turned round looking furious "you can't do that!" he protested "my father will hear about this!".

"Stand there, shut up and pay attention Nott or you'll thrown out of the exam and get an immediate T for distracting everyone" Hagrid said giving a rare glare to the Fifth Year.

Nott gulped and, obviously not wanting a T on his grades, he stood there and indeed shut up.

"Now everybody I know a lot of ye are confused righ abou now" Hagrid said "since many of ye can't see what I've got ere nex te me. Just to show I'm not messing with ya..." he picked up a piece of raw beef with blood dripping from it.

A few of the students gagged and then everyone gaped in surprise as Hagrid moved the beef to a particular spot...and it disappeared!.

Harry grinned widely having seen Hagrid feed the creature as he would any other "see, I tol ye that I'd give ya a good exam. Now, split up into groups of two and feed all of the Thestrals as best ye can. I'll be gradin ye on how much ye feed em and how ye get on with em. I'll take each pair over to one and then ye can get started once you know where they are" he announced.

Soon all of the students had been divided into pairs and the exam began. Many of the students struggled at first due to not being able to see them but Harry and Ron managed to breeze through the exam and seemed to be well liked by the Thestral.

Indeed, by the time the exam was over an hour later Harry and Ron had fed all of the meat to the Thestral and were both stroking the skeletal beast which was making purring noises sounding very contented.

"Well done you two!" Hagrid beamed at them as he checked everywhere and saw no meat in the bucket or anywhere else.

As most of the other students left Harry stood next to the Thestral and felt quietly confident that he and Ron would be getting the top grade in Care of Magical Creatures for OWL.

He did however feel quite sad at having to drop the subject.

He brought this up with Hagrid once he and the other New Marauders were helping taking the Thestrals back to there home just inside the forest.

"Oh don' worry abou it" Hagrid insisted waving away Harry's concern "you want a job teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts so ye need to concentrate on subjects tha help with that. I'm sure enough students'll take it up nex' year" he said confidently.

Harry felt he was probably right as he knew that Ron and Neville were both dropping Divination and would be more than likely to take this class up as they were very good at it.

Harry had not been all that surprised to learn of Hermione's four lesson choices for the following year, she would be taking Ancient Runes, Charms, Arithmancy and Transfiguration when were her four best subjects.

From what he'd heard she'd been upset at having to drop so many classes but had been told by McGonagall that given the skill needed in the NEWT level classes she would not be able to handle doing more than four at once.

McGonagall had even brought up the incident from their Third Year to illustrate the point as Hermione had overburdened herself and had begun cracking under the pressure.

Harry was just about to head inside Hagrids cabin for some tea when Professor Diggory appeared striding down the sloping lawns purposefully.

As the Professor reached the cabin he greeted the students and said "hello Professor Hagrid".

Hagrid snorted "no need to call me Professor now Cedric, we're both Professors".

Cedric chuckled "true. I wonder if you all wouldn't mind me borrowing Harry for a little chat it's just that I've heard he's interested in teaching defence one day".

Harry felt elated. Cedric was one of the best students he'd ever know at doing defensive magic and he was a very good teacher.

Harry jumped at the chance to take any advice offered "I'd love to talk with you Professor!" he said happily. He turned to Hagrid and the others "if you don't mind me going off, I'll see you later" he said cautiously.

"Oh go on with ye" Hagrid said chuckling "we'll be fine here, you go pick the Professors brains, he knows more about defensive spells than many other wizards n witches".

Harry waved goodbye to them all and set off across the grounds with Professor Diggory.

* * *

For a short while they talked as Diggory gave him much advice on defensive magic and becoming a Professor.

Before Harry realised it they were at the gates. Harry frowned in surprise "Professor, why are we at the gates?" he asked in confusion.

Behind him he heard a wand being drawn "last lesson Harry, be. more. cautious, Petrificus Totalis!".

Before Harry knew what was happening he had pitched forward onto the ground.

Diggory worked fast knowing someone could come along at any moment. He could not fail his Master now!.

With Harry petrified Diggory took what appeared to be an old shoe out of his robes, grabbed Harry's arm, aimed his wand at it and muttered "Portus".

A light beamed around the object to show it was ready for use. Diggory placed a hand on it and felt the familiar pulling sensation at his navel as the portkey sucked them through space to their designated location.

* * *

At the same time that these events were occurring down in the grounds another, very odd, event was taking place in the office of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was working through a stack of papers taller than himself and sucking thoughtfully on a lemon drop when the fireplace made the familiar noise of someone coming through.

The old wizard turned at the sound and waited as the flames turned green.

A wizard stumbled through. A familiar wizard who's lime green pinstriped suit and usually immaculate bowler hat were coated in soot.

"Let me help you with that Minister" Dumbledore said calmly with a faint note of amusement in his voice.

He soon managed to clear the soot off of Minister Fudge and asked "so what do I owe the pleasure of your company today Minister?".

To his surprise the Minister looked upset "I just can't believe it!" he kept saying over and over.

"Can't believe what Minister?" Dumbledore asked in concern.

The Ministers eyes snapped to Dumbledore "my Secretary!" he said "she was keeping me under the Imperius Curse!".

Of all the things Dumbledore had considered to be the reason for the Ministers visit this one was way down on the list.

He wouldn't have been surprised but he couldn't be sure the Minister was being genuine "do you mind if I confirm that?" the old wizard asked cautiously.

The Minister nodded distractedly "yes of course, feel free if it gets you to believe me" he said testily.

Fudge sank into a chair on the opposite side of the desk looking thoroughly drained.

Dumbledore walked round his desk, aimed his wand at the Minister and uttered the diagnostic incantation used for spell damage.

The result alarmed him thoroughly and made him revise his whole opinion of the Minister which had been, until now, very poor indeed "according to these results Cornelius" he said "you've been under the curse for years" Dumbledore's bright blue eyes fixed on Fudge "ever since Dolores Umbridge joined you as your Secretary".

The Minister nodded vigorously "yes, that's exactly right!" he said near hysterically. He ran a hand through his hair "I dread to think what she's had me doing and saying all these years".

Dumbledore looked cautiously at the Minister and then sighed heavily. He was going to find out from someone sooner or later so it might as well be sooner.

He went back to his desk, reached into the top drawer and pulled out a stack of Daily Prophet newspapers with headlines from Fudge's time so far as Minister.

He handed the papers to the distraught wizard who began to scan the headlines and become more alarmed and agitated by the minute "this...this is...terrible!" the Minister stuttered sounding horrified "she made me say and do all this!".

Dumbledore nodded gravely "I'm afraid so Cornelius. I'm afraid so".

The Minister put his head in his hands and wept for several minutes "those poor werewolves" he said heavily "life was getting better for them and I've...I've made it ten times worse".

"None of it is your fault Cornelius" Dumbledore said firmly hating to see the man beating himself up over something of which he had no control.

Fudge shook his head "it's absolutely my fault" he said "I should never have let that...that woman! in my department, I've failed in my duty and I must resign".

"What good would that do anyone Cornelius?" Dumbledore asked sensibly "the only other candidate at the moment for Minister is Patroclus Nott and he's not someone I'd trust with anything".

"What do you mean?" Fudge asked in confusion "Nott is not that bad...is he?".

Dumbledore withdrew a stack of parchment. It was everything the Order had gathered on Nott over the course of the last wizarding war "of course there isn't enough to convict him you see" Dumbledore said "so we need you to stay on at least for now".

Fudge nodded "if it is my duty to stay then I will. But first I intend to repeal every piece of legislation introduced during my tenure and to see Dolores Umbridge on trial for what she has done".

"A very sensible idea Cornelius..." just then the wards around Hogwarts shuddered with a magical energy.

Dumbledore checked his ward devices and paled "someone has used a portkey in the grounds of Hogwarts" he said in horror.

He went over to the fireplace "if you don't mind Cornelius..." Fudge nodded "go ahead" he said.

Dumbledore took some floo powder, threw it down and said Professor Minerva McGonagall".

When his head reached the fireplace of his stern Deputy Head he said with no preamble "Minerva sorry to disturb you but it's very urgent, an unauthorised portkey has just been used in the grounds".

Professor McGonagall dropped the tea cup she'd been holding. It shattered into several pieces "I'll be right there" she said sounding concerned.


	45. Chapter 45

Disclaimer: Everything in the Potterverse belongs to JK Rowling.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello all my wonderful readers and reviewers. This chapter will mark the end of Fifth Year at Hogwarts for the New Marauders.

* * *

Chapter Forty Five: Emergency Meeting, The Graveyard and aftermath

Harry was woken by someone slapping his face. He tried to open his eyes, after some time he managed to do so.

He blinked several times and looked round.

He stared in horror at his location. It was the graveyard from his nightmares.

'So it wasn't just a dream then' he thought to himself.

He tried to walk forwards but found that he was unable to move at all.

When he looked down to find out why he saw that he was tied to a stone monument on top of a grave. The grave had been dug out and whatever was in there had been removed.

He tried to move again and when he found himself stuck fast he finally realised that it must be magical ropes that could only be untied by someone using a wand or wandless magic.

He tried to think about things clearly.

The last thing he remembered was walking through the grounds with Cedric...no...Professor Diggory. They had been chatting about his ambitions to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts and what would be required to do so.

They had walked so far they ended up in front of the gates leading out of the school.

Harry's mind froze in place. 'It wasn't by chance you know' the voice in his head told him. It sounded remarkably like his brother Draco. He listened to the voice and realised it was right. It hadn't been by chance which meant that Professor Diggory had deliberately taken him there.

In his head Harry could now remember the last words he had heard Diggory say to him before everything went black "last lesson Harry, be. more. cautious". Then everything had faded away.

He presumed that Diggory or someone else had Petrified him as he could think of no other way to have blacked out other than being hit and he could tell that he didn't have a concussion which only left magical means.

What he couldn't work out was why Professor Diggory would have done such a thing. Had he been under the Imperius Curse...he had sounded fine. Had it been someone else under Polyjuice as had happened to Professor Moody last year? or perhaps Diggory had not done it at all and someone else had kidnapped him.

Lost in his thoughts as he was he only just barely heard the sound of twigs cracking and leaves crunching underfoot as several pairs of footsteps sounded from nearby.

Looking round Harry's eyes fixed on a large copper cauldron standing in the middle of the pathway between the gravestones.

He pondered on it's appearance as he mind caught up with him. He suddenly remembered the next part of his nightmare about the graveyard. A part of the nightmare confirmed to be reality as the first of the footsteps approached the nearby cauldron.

The person was carrying a bundle in their arms that looked like old rags.

He could see little of the person as they were currently wearing a cloak and a mask but within moments the individual had thrown back his cloak and removed his mask to reveal the man who Harry hated as much as Voldemort...Mundungus Fletcher "you bastard!" Harry shouted as he tried to wrench free of his bonds.

Fletcher turned his gaze from the bundle to Harry. He grinned evilly "hello Harry" he said cheerfully.

The traitor aimed his wand at the base of the cauldron and muttered several words. Within moments a fire had been lit on the wood piled underneath and the flames crackled up onto the underside of the cauldron as the sound of bubbling water could now be heard.

After some time the water must have been adjudged to be ready as Fletcher carefully lowered the pile of rags down to the surface of the water and opened them tipping something in.

Harry just about saw a bald head and had a horrible feeling that he knew what would be coming next.

After Fletcher had tipped the bundle into the cauldron he stood there next to it just staring at Harry for a moment grinning evilly before he turned his focus to an area between some gravestones from which a figure emerged.

It explained the two sets of footsteps he'd heard not long before.

The figure that approached, weaving their way between the gravestones was wearing black robes and had a hood pulled down.

The figure approached Fletcher and nodded before clasping the dark wizards hand.

Fletcher pointed at Harry, the other wizard nodded and walked towards monument to which Harry had been bound.

When the figure reached him they pulled back their hood and Harry's hatred for Fletcher was temporarily replaced by a new feeling. Shock. Disbelief. He was too stunned to even feel angry as he stared into the face of the man who had been, until a short time ago, his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. A man he thought he could trust.

Right now there was no kind, understanding, genuine smile on the face of Cedric Diggory. His face now only held pure contempt. Deepest loathing.

His hatred for Harry was so intense that it poured off of him like a waterfall.

Cedric whipped out a knife and smirked at the panic in Harry's green eyes as Harry began to struggle furiously against the bonds restraining him.

"Stop that you brat!" Cedric said irritably as he backhanded Harry across the face so hard Harry could taste blood on a lip he was sure had been split.

Cedric, using the knife, cut a slit along Harry's left arm and then dug the knife into it a short way, slashing along just enough to draw blood which dripped down onto the silver knife.

Cedric then spat at Harry before walking away laughing coldly as he returned to the cauldron. Next he took out his wand and levitated a bone up from the grass into the cauldron causing a slight splash "bone of the father unwilling given" he said. He tipped the blood from the knife into the cauldron and muttered "blood of the enemy forcibly taken".

Fletcher finished off what appeared to be some sort of ritual by lifting up his right hand, taking the knife that was proffered by Cedric and, to Harry's disgust, slicing off his hand which fell with a plop into the cauldron.

Fletcher grimaced for a short time while Cedric merely smirked.

The two men stood waiting and watching the cauldron as did a transfixed and captive Harry.

For a few minutes the cauldron fizzed and bubbled, then the bubbling and fizzing increased and finally, to Harry's horror, a figure began to emerge slowly from it, completely bald, glowing red eyes and slits for nostrils.

Harry knew without anyone even having to say anything just who this person was. He was the man who had haunted Harry's dreams his entire life, the man who had killed his mother, attempted to kill his father and tried to kill him. The most feared dark wizard in magical history...Lord Voldemort.

* * *

Draco was just finishing off his cup of tea as the wave of pain hit him as if he'd been struck.

He cried out "argh!" and held his hands to his head.

Hermione was the first of the five other occupants of the hut to notice that something was wrong as she shouted "Draco what's wrong?".

"Head...hurts" he mumbled "Harry...gone...can't...feel...anything...must...get...help" Draco ground out with great difficulty.

"We'd better go'n see Professor Dumbledore" Hagrid said decisively "he'll know what ta do".

The other three students agreed this to be a very good idea and soon the three of them were helping Draco along up to the castle as they tried to keep pace with the long strides of the Professor and Gamekeeper.

As it happened, they bumped into Professor Dumbledore at the doors leading into the Entrance Hall as the old wizard was hurrying out of the castle side by side with Professor McGonagall.

Dumbledore did not look all that surprised to see them as he said "I expected you'd be coming to see me Mr Black" to Draco.

Draco grimaced and nodded "Harry...link...gone" he said with effort.

Dumbledore nodded sadly "yes I had a feeling it would be my boy" he replied sympathetically and then added to all of them "I think you should come with us, we're heading to the spot in front of the Hogwarts gates, someone used an unauthorised portkey from these grounds".

"But...who?" Hermione said.

"Why?" asked Ron.

"How?" asked Neville.

"All very good questions" Dumbledore replied "and one's that I hope to get answers to shortly".

The group walked down the steps and down the long winding path that led to the Hogwarts gates.

As they walked Dumbledore had his wand out and was performing a diagnostic spell to check for magical signatures.

As they reached the gates Hermione called out "I recognise that cloak!".

In a moment she had picked it up and checked the top on the inside "it's Harry's" she said dispiritedly "it's got his name in it".

"No...not it can't be!" Ron shouted as he seized the cloak.

He checked it frantically and found the label "no!" he yelled "no!, Harry!".

The then normally composed Ron sank to the ground and began to sob uncontrollably.

"We don't know he was kidnapped Ron" Neville reasoned.

"I'm afraid we do my boy" Dumbledore responded gravely as he turned away from his diagnostics to face the four students and his two fellow Professors "according to my diagnostics spell only two people have been down by this gate at any point today. The first is Cedric Diggory and the second is Harry Potter".

Dumbledore swallowed "and according to the spell the portkey was initiated by Mr Diggory and was used by himself and Mr Potter...".

"Harry wouldn't go willingly!" Neville burst out indignantly.

"That's not what he's saying" Draco said hollowly.

Neville turned to him "he's saying that Professor Diggory kidnapped my brother...isn't that right Professor".

Dumbledore nodded sadly "yes I'm afraid that is what I am saying" Draco could see that the Professor had something else to say and perceptive as ever he guessed "and you're about to tell us that there's no way to know where they went or who's there".

Dumbledore nodded again "yes. I'm sorry Draco but there is no spell to determine such a thing".

Draco took a deep breath and said "this is going to crush Aunt Lucy and Uncle Wormtail and Moony, Dad and Uncle Prongs..." Draco teared up "this is..." he couldn't say anymore as he broke down into floods of tears.

The devastated foursome of students had to be led away from the gates with Hermione holding onto Ron as much to comfort him as herself.

* * *

By the time Albus Dumbledore returned to his office some fifteen minutes later he found it filled up with people.

Severus stood next to the Headmasters desk joined by a worried looking Cornelius Fudge while James Potter, his wife Lucy and Sirius Black and his wife Janice stood next to each other with David who looked terrified at a drawing that was clutched in his hands.

Molly was standing next to Peter and his wife as she sobbed into Celia's blouse and her Aunt tried to comfort her.

As Dumbledore entered he was assailed with questions from the waiting adults and children and held up his hands for quiet "first things first, I would say that all four of these children..." he indicated behind him to where Hagrid and Minerva were comforting them "could do with some cups of very strong tea and some comfort from you" he said calmly though his lip quivered.

Once all of the children had calmed somewhat Dumbledore spoke "the reason I have called all of you here is to inform you that this afternoon at approximately four pm Harry James Potter was taken out of the grounds of Hogwarts School" he held up a hand when several people tried to speak "I have determined that this was done by means of portkey and have also discovered the identity of the person responsible".

"Who is it?" James ground out furiously.

Dumbledore sighed. There really was no easy way to tell them so he decided to just come straight out with it "Cedric Diggory".

A loud murmur broke out at this name "are you sure Albus?" Lucy said softly "Harry always spoke so highly of him".

Dumbledore nodded sadly "I'm afraid there is no one else who was there with Harry at the time that it occurred. It was most assuredly Cedric Diggory".

"Then...the Imperius Curse?" Sirius suggested.

Dumbledore shook his head "no I'm quite certain that Cedric Diggory kidnapped Harry of his own accord".

"Where did they go?" James demanded angrily.

"I'm afraid I have no idea James" Dumbledore replied "there are no spells to detect the destination of portkeys. Only those who have created them know their true destination".

"Then what can we do?" Peter said sounding in the depths of despair as he held his crying wife.

"There isn't much we can do" Dumbledore said feeling very upset.

Tears formed in the corner of his eyes "all we can really do is hope that Harry's abilities will see him safely out of this situation and back to us. I will post Professors down by the gates to wait for anything".

Just then Severus cried out in pain "argh, no!" he shrieked in agony.

Everyone stared at him in concern as all knew he had previously been a Deatheater.

"He's back!" Severus hissed through the pain "he's returned, he's trying to summon me!".

Everyone in the office instantly paled at these words as Professor Snape had only served one Master who had the ability to call people to his side "fight it Severus!" Dumbledore urged feeling fearful for his Potions Master and friend.

"I don't...I don't think...I can't!" Severus yelled.

* * *

Harry's eyes were transfixed on the cauldron as the figure of Lord Voldemort stepped out. The one thing he was feeling now was terror. Sheer terror. Diggory approached Voldemort. In his hands was a pile of cloth.

"Robe me Diggory" Voldemort instructed imperiously.

Diggory rushed to do so, carefully and slowly he robed his Master. As he was doing so the sleeve of his robe brushed up and, to his disgust, Harry could see the Dark Mark imprinted on the Professor...or most likely former Professors arm.

As Diggory finished robing his Master Harry wondered vaguely when he had taken the Dark Mark.

He had believed that Voldemort was going to return one day as Dumbledore had but he had no idea it would have been this soon and now that it was happening his stomach was twisting painfully at the thought of having to face the most powerful dark wizard in centuries.

Once Voldemort was fully robed he began to feel himself all over seeming to revel in having a body once again.

He then said "Mundungus!" Fletcher was there in an instant bowing obsequiously "yes Master" he said reverently.

"Roll up your sleeve Fletcher, I wish to call my other 'faithful' followers to me". Fletcher nodded "of course Master" he rolled up his sleeve to expose the mark on his arm.

Diggory stepped forward with a long thin object which Harry assumed to be the dark wizards wand.

Fletcher grimaced but did not cry out evidently used to such treatment from his Master.

Harry couldn't stop the surprised look in his eyes as several whooshing sounds came from nearby as black mist swirled around and figures began to emerge.

Eight people appeared in a circle around Voldemort. All of them were wearing white masks and black cloaks. Harry couldn't see their faces but given that he'd seen people like this at the World Cup had been told they were Deatheaters he knew they were all followers of Voldemort.

Not long after these ten figures arrived everyone stared as another figure appeared. He wasn't wearing a mask and he looked nervous.

It was Harry's Uncle Severus. His virtual Uncle gave nothing away as he stood there hoping not to be noticed.

To begin with he wasn't as Voldemort went round the circle looking at the other Deatheaters "my loyal followers, my friends" he said throwing out his arms as if he were a prophet "it has been almost fifteen years since we last met. And yet...here you stand" his voice turned cold "whole. Undamaged. Not one of you continued to stand for the cause for which we worked". He began to tear the masks off of the Deatheaters faces.

"Amycus, Alecto, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery" one by one the Deatheaters staggered back as their disguises were torn from them by the irate Voldemort "Macnair, Selwyn and Nott" he finished tearing off masks and stared balefully at them all "not one of you stayed loyal" he said in disgust "not one of you tried to find me!".

"My lord!" Selwyn fell to his knees in supplication and began kissing the hem of Voldemort's robes "please forgive us!".

Voldemort wrenched his robe hem away from the fawning Deatheater and replied coldly "Lord Voldemort does not easily forgive mistakes. You must be punished. Crucio!".

As the spell hit Selwyn he began to writhe about on the yellowing grass in agony.

Harry again wished he could break free of his restraints. Voldemort approached the Deatheater Harry recognised as Patroclus Nott "and you, Nott" he said the name almost as if it were a dirty word "you were one of my longest serving followers, yet you did nothing. Nothing when I disappeared".

Nott began to stammer "My...my...my Lord...if there had been any hint...any sign as to your whereabouts...any sign as to your survival...I would have...".

"There were plenty of signs Nott!" Voldemort hissed "you merely chose not to see them!".

Nott cowered away in the face of Voldemort's rage "you need a lesson in loyalty my old friend" he sneered "Crucio!" Nott fell to the ground in pain just as Selwyn had done.

The other Deatheaters exchanged uneasy looks and cowered away from their Master as he surveyed them.

He must have heard Harry trying to get free as he turned his attention to him "ah Harry!" he said brightly "I was wondering when you'd join the party".

The Deatheaters chuckled nervously.

Voldemort walked slowly towards Harry holding out the wand he'd been given by Diggory. Harry swallowed in terror.

Normally he wouldn't have been quite as afraid as he was good at duelling but right now he couldn't reach his wand and was thus defenceless.

He wasn't stupid either as he knew that the old blood magic from his mother that had protected him now ran through Voldemort which meant the dark wizard could touch him without being in pain.

Voldemort reached him and grinned as he lifted Harry's fringe of hair away from his forehead "there it is" he said calmly "the famous scar I heard about from when you supposedly defeated me..of course..." he turned to the Deatheaters "we all know that to be a lie don't we" the Deatheaters nodded vigorously desperate to please their lord.

"What really happened was that this boy's filth Muggle-born mother saved him. He'd have died otherwise and I would now rule as I should!" he bellowed the last few words and then turned back to Harry "your blood now runs through my veins Harry. The same blood that your mother gave her life for. It means I can touch you" without warning he jabbed a finger into Harry's scar which exploded in pain.

Harry refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing him cry out and instead bit his lip as his mind said 'keep quiet. Don't let him beat you'.

Voldemort looked furious that Harry had refused to say anything and he backhanded him across the face leaving a very red hand print on his cheek "insolent boy" he hissed as he walked away.

Harry glanced quickly over at Severus who still had not been noticed by anyone.

This glance was enough for one of the Deatheaters to point his Uncle out and Harry kicked himself for his stupidity.

"My Lord, it's Severus, he's here!" cried out Amycus.

Upon hearing this Voldemort's eyes scanned the graveyard and came upon the features of Severus Snape who was, indeed, standing a little way apart from the Deatheaters looking very apprehensive about what would happen next.

Voldemort approached the Potions Master and surveyed him "you betrayed me Severus" he said in the tone that a disappointed father would use with a disobedient son. You kept the stone from me and protected that half-blood brat Harry Potter".

"My...my Lord...I..." Harry's Uncle stammered. Voldemort silenced him with a glare "you can save your feeble excuses Severus I know you to be a traitor. My latest follower..." he indicated Diggory who stepped forward "has more than enough evidence that you turned against me shortly after Harry Potter's birth and after giving me part of the prophecy".

Severus gulped but did not reach for his wand "I'm going to kill you Severus Snape" Voldemort said calmly as if he were discussing the weather "but I'm not going to give you the privilege of dying quickly no, no, no. You shall die slowly. Painfully".

Harry could see a resigned look on his Uncles face at these words and shouted "no!" as he tried to struggle free.

His shouting brought Voldemort's attention back to him "I'll deal with you in a moment Harry" he said coldly "first I'm dishing out some other punishment".

He turned back to Severus, aimed his wand at him and yelled "Crucio!" Severus fell down writhing about as Voldemort laughed a high, cruel, cold laugh, without warmth.

He performed several other torturous spells on Severus before declaring "that is enough fun for now my faithful friends" they were all disappointed "fear not, he shall be dealt with but first he shall be taking to your Manor Patroclus" Nott still twitching slightly nodded.

"And now it's time to deal with this impudent boy" he said as he turned to face Harry. He muttered a spell and the bonds and statue itself released Harry who fell to the ground with a thud.

He stood up slowly and checked himself over. His glasses were intact thanks to the permanent unbreakable charm placed on them and the only other damage was the split lip, cut on his arm and bruise on his cheek.

"It's time for us to duel Harry Potter" Voldemort said to him "I won't have it said I killed you without a fair fight" he smirked "of course I shall destroy you in any case" he added in amusement.

"You really think so?" Harry sneered "I've been taught by some of the best witches and wizards in history. Don't be so cocky Snake Face, it's bad for your health".

"Why you insolent brat!" Voldemort exploded. He threw a spell at Harry "Avada Kedavra!".

Harry ducked and rolled. The spell impacted with the monument blasting chunks of marble everywhere.

Harry stood up, whipped out his wand and yelled "Sectumsempra!" the spell caught Voldemort by surprise and slashes a gash across his torso. Harry grinned as he saw a smirk on Severus' face.

Harry ducked down as Voldemort shouted "Bombarda!", the spell flew past him and blew a nearby gravestone to pieces.

"Look me in the eye!" Voldemort yelled "I want to see the light leave your eyes when I kill you!".

Harry stood back up. He was feeling totally resolute. If this was it then so be it "I'm not afraid of you" he snarled defiantly "I know a feeling you never could. Love. I've got friends and family that love and respect me. Your fear may keep these cowards in check for a while but eventually even they'll see through you" he sneered.

The Deatheaters, as one, started forwards to intervene only to halt as Voldemort raised a hand and said coldly as he stared into Harry's green eyes "he's mine".

They continued to fire spells at each other which were either blocked, deflected, countered or dodged.

A spell hit Harry that slashed deep into his arm and he cried out in pain "argh!".

He fired back with a Jelly Legs Jinx that temporarily rendered Voldemort unable to fire at him.

The climax of their battle came when Harry and Voldemort both attempted to fire spells at each other, the wands connected and something truly astonishing happened.

They stayed connected as a beam of green light issued from Voldemort's wand and a red one from Harry's.

The Deatheaters and Severus stood stock still watching in amazement at the scene as Voldemort and Harry's wands duelled for dominance.

"You can't win boy!" Voldemort shrieked as he tried to hold the connection.

Harry was sweating profusely and trying to keep all his focus on maintaining the connection which he had only heard about in books "you're the one who can't win Tom!".

"Don't use that name!" Voldemort snarled furiously "it belonged to my filthy stupid treacherous Muggle father, it's not my name and never was!" he roared.

"Argh!" Harry cried out as the effort of maintaining the connection began to hurt.

As he stood there Harry saw something poking out of the end of Voldemort's wand. The thing escaped and formed up. It was the shape of a woman. He had seen her before working in the Department of Games and Sports. It was Bertha Jorkins "where am I?" she said and then saw Voldemort "fighting him are you?" she said "he killed me, you get him back" she urged.

Harry nodded and then saw more figures escaping the wand.

Another shape formed up. It was an old man. The man he'd seen in his nightmares about Voldemort. The man he saw being killed "so he's a wizard is he?" the old man said having seen his killer "killed me he did, you fight him boy".

Another figure exited the wand and formed up. She had had long red hair and bright green eyes. She was smiling at him "Mum?" he said in a choked voice.

Lily Potter nodded "it's me honey" she said.

"What are you all doing here?" the figures approached him "we're here to help you and Severus get away. We can only give you a few minutes so you'll need the portkey that brought you here".

"Diggory has it" Harry told her.

His mother nodded "I know. Get to Severus and when you're ready say Accio Portkey, this should get you the portkey and get the two of you to safety".

Harry nodded "okay".

"We'll crowd him now and give you as much time as we can. When we crowd him break the connection" she instructed.

She then turned and her and the other two ghosts walked towards Voldemort who gaped in surprise "what is this?!" he hissed sounding enraged.

The ghosts crowded him causing him to lose concentration. Harry saw the opening and broke the connection "Accio Portkey!" he shouted.

From close by Diggory cried out in surprise as the portkey flew from his hand and towards Harry who was already running to Severus.

He reached Severus just as the portkey reached them. As he grabbed Severus' arm someone shouted "Crucio!" Severus pushed Harry aside and took the impact as another voice shouted "Crucio!" and again Severus was hit.

He fell unconscious just as the portkey activated and sucked him and Harry through space and hopefully back to their original destination.

* * *

As the ghosts melted away Voldemort looked around the graveyard. He saw his nemesis and his traitor on the ground with the portkey.

Before he could react they were gone "no!" he bellowed with a roar of dark fury.

His plans had been foiled yet again.

A Deatheater cautiously approached his Master "My Lord?" the Deatheater said worriedly.

Voldemort whipped around "Crucio!" he yelled.

The Deatheater fell to the ground in agony as Voldemort turned away and fell into his dark thoughts as what should have been the moment of supreme triumph was now spoiled.

* * *

Harry fell with a thud to the ground landing on hard gravel. For a time he lay there panting heavily then he began to push himself up.

Feeling utterly exhausted by his confrontation with Voldemort he struggled to pull himself up. He saw the now unusable portkey lying next to him and on the ground nearby was his Uncle Severus. For a few heart stopping moments he thought his Uncle was dead. He breathed a sigh of relief as he saw his Uncles chest rising and falling albeit unevenly.

He realised with much relief that it was the driveway of Hogwarts. He was back at the school. He was safe...he'd survived.

Harry's strength failed him then and he collapsed with a thud onto the hard gravel as everything went black.

* * *

James Potter was pacing around the Headmasters Office feeling worried beyond words.

It had been several hours since Harry had gone missing and there had been no further news since Dumbledore had announced that James' son had been kidnapped by Cedric Diggory.

He was just about to pace up to the doors once again when the doors banged open loudly and everyone found themselves staring at a wild eyed Professor McGonagall "Harry is back!" she exclaimed "and Severus is with him!".

There was chaos at this.

James found himself feeling relieved that his son had somehow been able to escape but this was tempered by the fact that he had no idea what condition his son was in or why Severus Snap would be with him.

All round the office there were cheers of happiness and relief at the news of Harry's return and that of Severus Snape who had disappeared very suddenly.

"I think it prudent to speak with Madam Pomfrey on their conditions" Dumbledore suggested.

This suggestion was taken up by everyone else and they all exited the office to head down to the Hospital Wing.

When they reached the Hospital Wing Dumbledore decided to enter and find Madam Pomfrey.

He returned minutes later with the stern Medi Witch whose stern expression changed into one of sympathy as she saw who was waiting outside the Hospital Wing.

"How...how is he?" James croaked as he saw the look on her face.

Madam Pomfrey sighed "he'll be alright" she said after a time "but he is absolutely exhausted and he has several deep cuts and scratches as well as a bruised cheek and a split lip though from what I have no idea.

James breathed a sigh of relief at the minimal injuries that his son had suffered.

"And Severus?" surprisingly it was Sirius who had asked this.

At this Madam Pomfrey looked sad "he has been hit with several Cruciatus Curses and his body is not doing at all well" she turned her attention to Dumbledore "Headmaster I recommend that Severus is kept at Hogwarts in the Hospital Wing for at least a month".

Dumbledore nodded "it is a sensible precaution, we shall both be here and so shall the House Elves so he will be well looked after".

"Can we go in to see them?" Lucy asked softly.

"Harry yes, but only a few at a time. Severus, no. He needs as much rest and recuperation as possible as he is very badly wounded".

The first three to be allowed in were James, Lucy and Draco. The trio walked through the doors and followed Madam Pomfrey as she strode down the ward towards the final bed on their right.

There were screens around it "Harry is just in here" the Medi Witch informed them "do not make too much noise" she said sternly but sympathetically.

The three of them moved the screens back slightly and went in.

James' heart constricted in his chest at the sight of his son lying in the bed. He could see what Madam Pomfrey meant. There were several scratches and cuts on his face, arms and chest including a deep gouge in his arm and a split lip.

"Oh my poor baby!" Lucy cried out as she went to her son's side, took his hand and kissed it.

James stood next to her and stroked his son's hair "what happened son? how did you get like this?".

Draco took a position on Harry's right and placed a hand to Harry's temple.

He closed his eyes and James watched in amazement as Draco used his ability to heal all of Harry's cuts, scratches and gouges.

In a matter of minutes Harry was fully healed.

Something must have happened as Draco pulled his hands away from his brothers head in shock "no!" he shouted.

James went over to him "what is it Draco?" he asked in concern.

"I saw...I saw..." Draco didn't seem able to say it as he shook his head in disbelief.

Before he could compose himself there was a rustling of covers and a voice speaking "he's back!".

They all jumped as they turned to look at Harry who was now awake "what?" Lucy asked her son with worry.

Harry almost shouted it "he's back! Voldemort's back, I saw him. He...he has his body back!.

James Potter took off through the screens to find Dumbledore who was standing outside the Hospital Wing doors looking concerned at the shouting.

"Albus!" James said urgently "Harry...he's awake. He said...he said that Voldemort is back!".

Dumbledore's eyes widened in horror as he breathed "I knew it would happen one day but...but this soon" the old wizard shook his head "well nothing to be done about it now, I must leave you all and contact many people. It is a good job our esteemed Minister is still in my office".

Dumbledore left them to return to his office.

* * *

By the time Harry was able to leave the Hospital Wing the next day his Uncle Severus had still not awoke from the damage done to him by the Cruciatus Curse.

The next two weeks were the longest of Harry's life. He felt very little joy about anything as he brooded on Voldemort's return, his Uncles injuries and Cedric Diggory's betrayal.

The same day he had returned from the graveyard Harry found out that Minister Fudge had been under the Imperius Curse for years and the perpetrator was his secretary Dolores Umbridge who was a support of Voldemort. Umbridge had been arrested, tried, found guilty and sentenced to life in Azkaban for use of an Unforgivable.

A few days after this Minister Fudge held a press conference explaining his actions as Minister and repealing all legislation he had so far introduced.

The Minister had also informed everyone with a heavy heart the terrible news that Voldemort was back with his own body and would no doubt launch a new war against the Ministry and all those he hated. In the same press conference Fudge announced that he was increasing the number of Aurors and giving authority for the arrests of Patroclus Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Avery and all others who had come willingly to Voldemort's rebirth.

The most shocking was the warrant for the arrest of Cedric Diggory. Cedric's betrayal had broken his parents.

Harry had learned a week after the press conference that Nott, Crabbe, Goyle and Avery had managed to evade the Aurors and had disappeared while the others had been caught, tried and sentenced to Azkaban.

Harry and the other New Marauders entered the Great Hall for the leaving feast.

In the two weeks since Voldemort's return Gryffindor had been confirmed as Quidditch champions for the third time in Harry's five years at Hogwarts.

Once they were settled at the Gryffindor table they were about to tuck into their food when Dumbledore stood up from his seat and appealed for quiet.

The hall fell silent as the old wizard began to speak "witches and wizards of Hogwarts School" he began "you will have heard in the past few weeks of the return of Lord Voldemort. I am sorry to say that the Minister is wholly correct and he has indeed returned as a result I urge all you to be very cautious this summer. Voldemort will be out for revenge now that he has returned and will I am sure not hesitate to attack any of us who get in his way. Be vigilant and try to have a good summer".

He then announced that Gryffindor had won the House Cup for the fourth time in five years but this announcement didn't seem to matter to anyone anymore.

As Harry, his brother and friends got themselves settled in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express the next morning Hermione remarked "it's all going to be different now isn't it".

Harry nodded seriously "now he's back life is going to get more tough in Wizarding Britain. I'm just glad that Minister Fudge believed me about his return".

After that they all fell silent as they tried to digest what Voldemort's return meant for them.

Harry knew that things were not ending...they were only just beginning.

* * *

Authors Note: Next chapter will cover the summer and will see Harry being used to recruit a certain former Potions Master, Harry and the other New Marauders reveal a secret and the disappearances begin.


	46. Chapter 46

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to the Harry Potter Universe.

* * *

Authors Note: I had originally planned to have the summer of 96 be only one chapter long but there is so much happening that the last part of the summer will be merged with the train journey to Hogwarts and the welcome feast.

I appreciate all of the reading, reviewing and favourites from all you wonderful people thanks for the support.

* * *

Chapter Forty Six: Summer of 96 Part One

It was now 8th of July and Harry had been back at Marauder Manor for over a week now. Thankfully there had been no homework assigned during the break so all he had the entire summer to do whatever he wished. At the moment he was trying to read Quidditch Through the Ages.

He sighed as he sat on the bench near the Quidditch pitch.

The heat of the summer was absolutely stifling and many news forecasters were proclaiming it to be the hottest summer since 1976.

As it happened, Harry was not reading the book but merely using it right now in an attempt to divert his mind away from thinking about the confrontation in the graveyard, Voldemort's rebirth, the treachery of Diggory and the fact that a man who he considered on Uncle had saved him from severe injury.

Harry sighed heavily and slammed the book shut. It was no good. He couldn't keep his brain from returning to that horrible moment when Voldemort had risen from the cauldron, rejuvenated, with a new body and now able to touch Harry.

He had felt the weight of the prophecy before of course. He had been feeling the weight of it since he had been told of the prophecy and it's contents by his father when he was around eight. But back then it had seemed so remote.

Even when he had faced Quirrell and Voldemort in the chamber when the stone was housed he had not felt the prophecy so strongly. Even when he had killed the shade of Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets he'd not felt the pressure of it all.

Right now however he felt the pressure on his shoulders. It was like an iron weight that was pushing down more and more and threatened to squash him at any moment.

With Voldemort now back it would only be a matter of time before Harry had to face him again and most probably for the final time.

He had no idea when or where the final showdown was to be as the Prophecy made no mention of such a thing. All he knew was that it would happen and that one of them would kill the other. For the sake of his friends, his family and the girl he loved and wanted to marry he knew he had to kill Voldemort for if he failed and Voldemort triumphed his family, his friends, the girl he loved, Hogwarts...all of it would be gone. All of it turned to ashes, reduced to a new dark age of terror and blood supremacy.

As he was sitting there he heard footsteps and the voice of his brother Draco "Harry Uncle Severus is awake!" he said excitedly.

Harry whipped his head round so hard he hurt his neck "awake?" he asked wanting confirmation.

His brother nodded as a beaming smile crossed his face "apparently he woke up early this morning but Madam Pomfrey refused to let anyone visit him until she'd checked him over. He's alright now and he wants to see us".

Harry stood up, grabbed the book, tucked it under his arm and ran with his brother back up to the house where they were met at the kitchen door by their sister Molly "wonderful news isn't it" she said with tears in her eyes.

Harry and Draco both laughed as she did and the three siblings hugged each other tightly as they let the happiness of the moment sink in.

A new fear gripped Harry though "he has the Dark Mark" he told them both.

"We know" they said at once and Draco clarified "we saw him roll up his sleeve in Dumbledore's Office just before he vanished".

"What if Voldemort uses it again to call Uncle Sev to him?" Harry said running a hand through his hair "there must be some way we can remove the mark from him!".

Draco patted his shoulder "we're both with you...right sis?".

"Right" replied Molly firmly "we're not going to rest until we've found a way to get that horrible mark off Uncle Sev's arm and he doesn't have to worry about it anymore".

"Ron and the others are bound to want to help" said Draco.

Harry grinned and began to feel better about the whole thing as with so many people searching for information they were bound to find something out.

They walked through the doorway from the kitchen into the drawing-room and found that Remus was waiting by the fireplace.

When he saw them he gave them all a smile "alright you three?" he asked kindly.

They grinned and nodded "lets go to Hogwarts then shall we?" he replied. The three students joined Remus by the fireplace and lined up to take the floo network to Hogwarts School.

When the four of them arrived in Dumbledore's Office that afternoon they found that the aforementioned wizard was not sitting behind his desk as usual but was instead waiting for them near the fireplace to welcome them as they dusted themselves down the old wizard said warmly "it is so good to see all four of you again".

"And you Professor" they all said happily.

Dumbledore chuckled "oh please, when it is just us family I see no reason for formality".

He shook their hands and then said to Harry "Harry why don't you take Draco and Molly down to the Hospital Wing to see Severus".

Harry and the other two gave Dumbledore curious and quizzical looks but Harry obeyed as he pushed them ahead of him across the office to the double doors.

As they were descending down to whatever floor the entrance to the office was on today Draco spoke "I suppose they're talking about the Order of the Phoenix again".

"And they don't want us to hear about it" Molly added.

"Almost certainly" Harry declared.

When they reached what they recognised to be the Third Floor they headed off for the Hospital Wing.

On the way there Harry stopped for a moment which caused Draco and Molly to stop too "what's wrong Harry?" Draco asked in concern.

"It's not bloody fair!" Harry exploded.

His siblings gaped at him in shock wondering where this outburst had come from. It had been like this several times since his return from Hogwarts a few weeks before "not fair?" Molly asked sounding confused "what's not fair?".

"I'm the one who's faced Voldemort three times!" he shouted "I'm the one who the prophecy is about!. Me not Dad, not Padfoot, not Moony or Wormtail, not Mum or Aunt Janice or Mr Weasley or Mrs Weasley or Bill or Dumbledore or any of the other members of the Order!" he slapped himself on the chest "me!" he yelled "I should be in the order too, I know how to fight. I proved I can take on Voldemort himself and yet they keep me out of everything!".

Harry slumped down in a seat cut out of the wall and put his head in his hands "I'm sorry guys" he mumbled as he began to deflate "it's not your fault and I shouldn't be shouting about it like this".

His brother and sister sat down beside him "well I'm glad they won't let you join" Molly declared.

Harry stared at her in disbelief "don't look at me like that Harry, I don't want you to get hurt".

Harry just glared at her "I'm not a little boy who can't protect himself!" he retorted sharply.

"I'm not saying you can't Harry I'm just saying...I love you and I want you safe" she said sounding upset.

"I agree with Harry" Draco spoke suddenly.

Both Harry and Molly looked at their brother in surprise. Draco may play pranks a lot but when it came to matters of people's safety he was usually very careful about things which made it unusual for him to say such a thing "you do?" Harry said.

Draco nodded seriously "yes. I think if anyone has a right to join the Order it's you" he said.

Harry felt grateful that his brother would back him up on this. Molly however was furious and glared at their brother angrily "so you want to see our brother get hurt do you?" she demanded.

"Of course I don't Molly don't be silly" Draco replied.

"Oh silly am I?" she shouted.

"Yes you are being silly Molly" Draco replied calmly "Harry should be one of the key members of the order because he know's just as much about Voldemort as anyone else and besides he's one the prophecy is about as he says, so he needs to know everything and not be kept in the dark, he is nearly sixteen after all".

Draco and Molly argued all the way down to the Hospital Wing while Harry stayed silent on the matter. He'd already decided that when he saw his Dad and Mum that evening he was going to demand to join the order and wouldn't take no for an answer.

They reached the Hospital Wing and opened the double doors. They were met immediately by Madam Pomfrey who escorted them along the rows of beds to the second to last bed in which Severus Snape lay.

"Now he is still not fully well so I ask you not to tire him" Madam Pomfrey said sternly.

After they promised they would not tire him she left and they walked over to him. The man in question currently had his eyes closed and Harry wondered if they wouldn't be better off letting him rest for now and coming back another time "oh no you don't" Severus said in a weak voice "I've waited weeks to see you three and I don't plan on waiting longer".

Severus' eyes opened, he blinked a few times and then smiled at them all. He could see they were concerned for him "you don't need to worry" he assured them "according to Madam Pomfrey I will be back on my feet in another week".

At this news the three younger witches and wizards faces broke into big grins "really glad to hear it Uncle Sev" Harry said sincerely.

"Yeah best news we've had in weeks" Draco declared.

For her part Molly simply jumped onto the bed and hugged him.

Despite Harry and Draco's calls for here to be more careful and to let him go Severus said "no leave her. It's fine".

"I have a bit of exciting news for you three" Severus said. He crooked a finger "come closer you two" he said to Harry and Draco. They moved closer.

"Now keep this to yourselves because Headmaster Dumbledore would be most displeased if I told anyone yet".

"We promise" Harry and Draco said together.

"On my honour" said Molly.

Severus grinned at them and whispered conspiratorially "I've just been named the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher" he said happily.

The three siblings were stunned. They knew that it was the subject their Uncle had wanted to teacher ever seen he had become a Professor and they also knew his disappointment of being passed over every year since he had started to teach.

Molly in a quavering voice asked "what about the curse on the job though Uncle Sev? no one in the job has taught for more than a year since 1957!".

Severus waved these concerns away "I love you dearly Molly but honestly it's all complete nonsense".

"You're trying to say that what has happened to all those Professors is nonsense?" Harry demanded and then listed off the names of all the Professors who had taught DADA since 1957 and where they all were now.

"Well lets be fair Harry" said Severus "you killed Quirrell to stop him getting the stone while Ron killed Gilderoy Lockhart in the Chamber of Secrets".

Harry had to concede those two points. He sighed knowing that it would do no good to argue with their Uncle who was champion when it came to arguments of logic. He wasn't known as a chess master for nothing.

When they returned to Professor Dumbledore's Office an hour later they found their Uncle Remus engaged in a discussion with Dumbledore about the very job they had just been discussing with Uncle Severus "ah I assume that Severus has told our young friends here all about his new appointment".

Harry didn't even gape in surprise at this, so used was he to Dumbledore being all seeing and all knowing "yes Sir" he said "we were told".

"You can't let him Professor!" Molly burst out sounding very upset.

Draco and Harry held her "that job is cursed. Who knows what will happen to him if he stays in it!".

"He will be fine Miss Potter" Dumbledore assured the twelve year old who merely looked sceptical.

* * *

That evening Harry felt very nervous but also very determined. He was not going to sit on the sidelines and just watch as his family and friends of the family and many others fought for the light against Voldemort and his Deatheaters.

He took heart in the knowledge that he had the support of his twin Draco but was disheartened that his sister Molly agreed with keeping him away from the order.

As for the rest of his family, he had no idea how most of them would react but as far as his parents went he could envision it pretty clearly. They would rage, they would shout, they would calmly state that he was too young and when he called them out on being only seventeen when they joined the order the first time they'd try to change the subject.

As he entered the dining room the night he faltered temporarily. Could he really do it? could he really declare his intent now? 'YES!' his mind answered firmly 'you can and you will' Harry nodded in agreement with the voice in his head and as he said good evening to everyone he caught sight of Draco who smiled at him and through their mental link said "I'll support you all the way, I'm going to tell Mum and Dad tonight myself".

Harry was surprised at this but replied back "good luck. I've got your back too".

They had just finished the main part of their meal and Celia, Janice, Lucy and Remus were collecting up the plates.

'Now's as good a time as any' Harry's mind said 'right' he replied.

He pushed his chair back and stood up. Everyone looked at him curiously as it was not like him to stand up before being excused from the table "Mum, Dad, everyone" he began. He swallowed nervously, took a long gulp of the cold clear water in his glass and set the glass back down. There was nothing for it but to come out and say "I want to join the Order of the Phoenix" he declared.

As he looked round the room he saw the varying expressions on his family's faces Sirius, Peter and Draco all looked either encouraging, approving or impressed while his Father looked pale and worried as did his Mother, Remus and, Janice, Celia and Molly. While David looked torn. The Twins merely stared in confusion not being old enough to know what was going on.

Time must have slowed down for a moment for Harry momentarily heard the sound of a large number of plates falling and smashing on the carpeted floor of the dining room "no" James said firmly.

Harry had know his parents would try to refuse but really? to say no and nothing else?.

Harry wasn't having it "why not?" he demanded as he glared at his Father and got the expected response "you're too young".

Harry rolled his eyes at this typical excuse "was I too young then when he tried to kill me at only a year and a half of age?" he asked "was I too young when I killed Quirrell and ruined Voldemort's plans for getting the stone?".

His Father was turning paler and paler and seemed to be getting angry. Harry pressed home the point "what about when I went down into the Chamber with Ron to rescue Ginny, battle Lockhart, a Basilisk and the shade of Tom Riddle?" he asked "and then there's the small matter of me duelling Voldemort in a graveyard".

"That's...that's enough" Harry Dad said tightly "go to your room now and forget this foolishness".

Harry stood his ground. He was fifteen not five "I'm not going until you've changed your mind" he said stubbornly.

"Come on Harry lets go" Remus said from behind him as he tried to grab him "no Moony I'm sorry but I'm not giving up on this".

"Leave Harry be Moony" Sirius said standing up "I say if he wants to join the order good for him".

"Oh you would wouldn't you!" Remus snapped suddenly "you've never cared for rules or being safe, just look at the incident with Severus in our Fifth Year".

"That was totally different!" Sirius shouted.

"You're not joining the order Harry" his Mother said cutting through the fighting "it's too dangerous and you need to concentrate on your school work".

"Fred and George have been allowed to join" he said pointedly.

"They are of age" Janice stated seriously "they are old enough to be involved in this business".

"So am I!" Harry yelled "I'm not some little kid that needs protecting all the time. I've dealt with evil before many times and I know some very advanced magic".

He did something that none of them would ever have expected. He changed form and in his place stood a majestic stag with brown fur, large antlers and bright green eyes.

"Oh bloody hell!" his Father yelled in disbelief.

Harry changed back "now I know some of you will be angry at me".

Draco cut in "it's not just Harry" he changed into a wolf with grey fur and then changed back "it's all of us New Marauders" he told them with a grin. He turned to his Father Sirius "I want to join the order too Dad" he said.

Sirius beamed with pride at the bravery of his son "I'll back you all the way" he stated and got a furious glare from his wife in return as she shouted "Draco is not joining the order!".

Harry had had enough of all the excuses. He wasn't taking no for an answer and he knew his brother wouldn't either. He nodded to Draco who nodded back and walked round the table to stand next to him "Draco has just communicated via our link his full support for what I'm about to say and what I'm saying is this" Harry set his jaw "we either join the order this month or we leave this house and take the fight to Voldemort on our own".

There were varying expressions at this pronouncement from swear words to exclamations of disbelief and even an "good for you" from Peter.

Harry's parents and Janice looked at each other. Without speaking, they left the room with Remus and Celia no doubt conferring with each other.

Harry waited alongside Draco as the time ticked by.

Ten minutes later the five adults reentered the room. All looked upset but resigned especially Harry's Father as he opened his mouth to speak "when you turn sixteen at the end of this month we'll talk to Dumbledore and ask...".

"I want you to give me your word, both of you, that you'll convince him" Harry said firmly. He wasn't being kept out of it anymore.

"We'll try" James said to his son "that's all we do Harry. He may let you join but on the other hand he may believe as we do that you're too...".

"Don't. Say. It. Again" Harry declared in a deadly calm voice "I'm not having it. If he tries to stop me joining I'll leave Hogwarts" he said. He then stormed from the room followed by Draco in solidarity.

As Harry ascended the stairs to the first floor he privately felt like he'd gone too far. He'd almost never spoken like that to his parents and every time he had done so he'd been in the wrong 'no you needed to say it' the voice in his head said.

Draco spoke as they reached the landing "you needed to get that off your chest Harry, don't go feeling guilty".

Harry nodded. They went in and spent the next hour chatting and playing video games.

* * *

The first month of the summer holidays seemed to fly by as despite the blazing heat Harry, Draco and their friends Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna and Ginny spent much time outside talking, playing Quidditch, football, cricket and just generally enjoying the fine weather.

It was now the 31st of July and time for Harry's birthday.

Harry got up early as was customary for him and began hunting for socks. His bedroom, like that of most other teenagers, was a total mess. As he searched his sock drawer and the floor for a pair of clean and undamaged socks a pop sounded behind him. He jumped and dropped all of the socks he'd picked up.

He turned around and found himself staring at his personal House Elf Molter "Molter, I asked before not to do that!" he said irritably. Casting a look at the large pile of socks he moaned "now I'll have to search all over again!".

"Molter will help Master". Harry sighed. He'd tried everything to convince Molter not to call him Master but it had all been to no avail "alright Molter, I appreciate the help" he replied and together they looked for a clean pair.

Once they had found one Molter said "happy birthday Master Harry" and vanished with a pop almost before Harry could reply "thanks".

He got changed and headed onto the landing where he met Draco and Molly "hey guys" he said as they headed down the stairs into the Entrance Hall "happy birthday brother mine" Draco said giving him a big manly hug while Molly gave him a tender hug and said "happy birthday bro".

They went outside and spent the next two hours until nine o clock doing jogging, press ups, push ups, sit ups and all manner of exercises to warm up the muscles, help the heart and keep them in overall good physical condition.

When they headed in for breakfast that morning they found a spread of pancakes and full English breakfasts waiting for them on the table while Remus who had just sat down said "tuck in birthday boy. Your parents had head to work early but they'll be back for your party later, same goes for Wormtail and Celia".

Just as Harry was about to tuck in to his hearty breakfast he found himself being hugged by David his younger brother "hey kiddo" he said with a grin as he ruffle David's hair "don't do that!" David protested as his curly hair began to go all over the place. Harry laughed "sorry kiddo".

"S' alright" David replied "happy birthday Harry".

Harry got out of his chair and hugged his younger brother "cheers kiddo" he said with a smile "want some of my pancake?".

Harry, Draco, Molly, David and Remus were well into their breakfast when the sound of loud tapping could be heard from the nearby.

Everyone turned at the sound and could see a large tawny owl standing on the ledge of the kitchen window, it's feathers were slightly ruffled and it looked impatient.

Molly crossed the room and opened the window. The owl soared in, dropped three envelopes and landed on the table.

After being given a bit of a bacon and some water which it took gratefully it left with a hoot.

Molly put her letter down and, passing their envelopes to Harry and Draco said "I wonder what we need to get this year?".

Harry picked his envelope up and found it rattled slightly. He grinned knowing already what it was. When he opened it the envelope he pulled out the usual letter full of information on what to buy/bring and found an orange and red badge that said "Captain" and had the Gryffindor crest upon it.

He was heartily congratulated by Draco, Remus, Molly and David.

When Draco had a moment he asked "Harry, I'd like to try out for a Chaser position this year what with Angelina, Katie and Alicia having left".

Harry nodded. He knew how good his brother was in the position and would have just given it to him but Draco was just like him, he hated being handed anything and preferred to work for it which, Harry reflected, was a very good attitude to have in life.

That afternoon and evening had been set aside for Harry's birthday party. All the usual suspects turned up to wish him many happy returns, give him presents and to dance, sing and eat the day away.

Not long after the party started Harry was surprised to be approached by Professor Dumbledore, his Uncle Severus, Hagrid and Professor McGonagall.

All had already wished him a happy birthday and given him their presents so he hadn't expected to speak to them all again already "hello Professors" he said with a cautious smile.

Professor McGonagall and Hagrid looked concerned while his Uncle Severus looked proud "Harry would you come with us to the big table?" Dumbledore asked. The bright twinkle was in his blue eyes as per usual which made Harry relax "of course, lead the way" he said and followed them.

When they reached the table he was surprised to find that most of the top members of the order were assembled there, his Parents, his Aunts and Uncles, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Mr and Mrs Longbottom, Ted Tonks and his wife Andromeda Sirius' cousin, Elphias Doge a great friend of Dumbledore's, Dedalus Diggle, a woman he'd not seen before and finally Alastor Moody who many now called "Mad Eye" on account of his magical eye.

While this was a surprise it was nothing to the fact that Draco, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna were also seated.

Harry took a spare seat while Dumbledore sat in the head seat with Severus Snape and Professor McGonagall nearby "we are gathered around this table today to answer the formal request of Harry James Potter, Draco Regulus Black, Ronald Bilius Weasley, Hermione Jean Granger, Ginevra Molly Weasley, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood, to join the Order of the Phoenix. The leaders of this organisation are present today and will cast their votes".

Harry watched and waited. He received votes from all of his family despite obvious reluctance from his Parents, Aunts and Remus, votes in support also came from Kingsley Shacklebolt, Moody, Ted Tonks and his daughter and Dedalus Diggle as well as Mr and Mrs Lonbottom.

"I declare that Harry James Potter hereby is admitted into the Order of the Phoenix" after swearing an oath to fight Voldemort Harry watched as the vote carried on for the others. It was was a close run thing but in the end all of the New Marauders had been inducted as members of the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore had a few words to Harry before he left the party "Harry now that you are a member of our organisation I have a first mission for you to join me on. To put off the Deatheaters we will be leaving from the Order's Headquarters, I may not tell you as I am not Secret Keeper" he said "but your Godfather being the Secret Keeper may tell you" Harry nodded "I'll be ready Sir, just let me know when".

The old wizard nodded seriously but with a small smile "until our mission then Harry" he said and he, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall and Severus left.

* * *

A few days after Harry, Draco and Molly received their Hogwarts letters they were taken to Diagon Alley to buy their school things by Sirius and Celia who had been able to get time off work to do so.

When they made their way into Diagon Alley the place had not changed much but there was one big difference. Groups of Aurors were patrolling the streets. Most were not in uniform but as Harry knew most of the Aurors in the Ministry he knew they were Aurors.

Several of them said hello to him and his family as he passed.

Once they had their gold from their vaults Sirius and Janice allowed them to go off and collect their Hogwarts supplies alone.

They had just finished browsing in Quality Quidditch Supplies when Harry saw a shifty looking Theodore Nott round the corner into Knockturn Alley followed by a middle aged woman Harry assumed to be his Mother.

"Guys follow me" he hissed and began to head along the alley towards the entrance to Knockturn.

"Harry what are you doing?" Draco asked.

Harry pointed to where Nott and his Mother had just rounded the corner.

Draco and Molly seemed to understand as they followed him.

The three of them reached the entrance to Knockturn Alley and reluctantly entered it.

They followed Nott and his Mother through the winding streets hiding once or twice when it looked like Nott might see them.

The three of them stood and watched as Nott and his Mother entered the shop called Borgin and Burkes where Harry had accidentally ended up a few years ago following a mishap with travelling by floo.

They saw Nott swagger up to the counter and speak to the man behind the counter Harry had seen before his Second Year. They could not hear what was being said but watched as Nott purchased a hideous looking hand and then pointed to an old wooden cabinet.

No money changed hands but Nott shook hands with the man behind the counter and pointed to the cabinet again nodding. The other man bowed and nodded obsequiously.

Later that day after Harry, Draco and Molly had returned from Diagon Alley and told Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Luna all about seeing Nott at Borgin and Burkes they were as suspicious as he was except Hermione "we don't know he was up to anything" she insisted "I don't like him but we can't assume he's turned bad".

"What do mean **turned **bad?" Ron demanded of his girlfriend "he's always been an arrogant git".

Hermione rolled her eyes and said "yes I know that Ronald but it doesn't make him a Deatheater".

"I'm with Ron on this one" said Harry "if anyone would take the Dark Mark and help Voldemort it would be him".

"Wonder what he bought the hand for?" Draco mused.

"I'm not bothered about that" said Harry chewing his lip thoughtfully "I'm more interested in why he wanted an old cabinet".

"Maybe he's obsessed with old furniture?" suggested Neville and they all fell about laughing as they tried to imagine Nott as an antique dealer.

* * *

It was the day after Ginny's birthday when Harry was summoned to Grimmauld Place with Draco. Molly said goodbye as she was not allowed inside Order Headquarters.

Harry and Draco tucked their wands into their holsters and walked down to the gates.

Once they had left the Manor grounds and the protection of Muggle repelling charm Harry stuck out his wand.

In moments a large, blue, multi-deckered bus appeared from seemingly thin air and pulled to a halt next to them.

As they had travelled on the Knight Bus before Harry and Draco knew the spotty faced, blonde haired wizard in the conductors uniform "hey Stan" Harry said by way of greeting "good to see you Stan" said Draco.

The older wizard grinned at them and shook their hands "Harry, Draco" he said "hop on". They did so and found comfortable seats on the bottom deck "so where're you off to?" Stan inquired.

"Somewhere called Grimmauld Place" Harry told him "it's in London".

"Grimmauld Place eh?" Stand said "I've heard of it but not been there before, that'll be err..." Stan thought for a moment "eleven sickles each" he said.

Harry and Draco fished into their pockets and each counted out eleven sickles which they handed to Stan. He put it in his satchel and handed them their tickets "I'll be right back" he said with a grin as he headed to the front of the bus. They could hear the conversation as Stan spoke with the elderly wizard bus driver Ernie Prang "okay Ern take it away" he said tapping on the window of the drivers compartment.

The shrunken head always present in the drivers compartment echoed the words "yeah take it away Ernie!".

Ernie put the bus into gear and it shot forward.

Not for the first time did Harry regret having a hearty breakfast before using the Knight Bus.

After a while the bus pulled to a stop in a street lined with trees and parked cars. Harry wondered if it was the right area as it seemed to be all Muggle. He asked Stan who said "course it is, we wouldn't take you to the wrong address now would we?".

Harry and Draco thanked Stan and, feeling a little queasy, they hopped off the bus and stared around.

They stood by a set of iron railings which fenced in a cluster of trees "I thought Dumbledore said there'd be someone here to meet us" Draco said in confusion as he looked round.

"He did" said Harry frowning "he said we'd be met when we reached Grimmauld Place".

Feeling annoyed, Harry looked around. It was as he was looking all round the area that he saw a large black dog with yellow eyes approaching it's tongue hanging slightly out.

As the dog approached them and gave what passed for a grin Harry began to speak to it "Padfoot!" he said "Dumbledore didn't tell us it'd be you meeting us!".

If any Muggle were watching him right now they'd think Harry was absolutely crackers but the fact was that this dog wasn't a dog at all but rather a wizard with the ability to transform into a dog at will.

As if to demonstrate this fact, the large black dog disappeared and was replaced by a man wearing a leather jacket and jeans. Sirius Black "glad you two made it" he said giving his son and godson a hug each.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment "read this both of you and then destroy it" he instructed.

They did so and the building on the other side of the road began to stretch out as number twelve appeared in between numbers eleven and thirteen "god I love magic" Harry said with a laugh.

Sirius chuckled and said "I need to disillusion us, Dumbledore's orders to keep Muggles from seeing us" he waved his wand, said an incantation and then told them "we're now invisible to Muggles, come on" they followed him across the road.

They reached the top step and Sirius removed the Disillusionment Charm. He then said "after you" to bot Harry and Draco who turned the old black door handle and entered Grimmauld Place.


	47. Chapter 47

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter Forty Seven: Summer of 96 Part Two and Welcome Feast.

Harry and Draco entered the dimly lit hallway and stared round. Based on this first impression the house didn't look like a very nice place to stay and Harry was glad they wouldn't be there for long.

"Depressing isn't it" Sirius commented from behind them as the three of them walked through the hallway.

Harry couldn't help nodding. It really was a miserable house "who does it belong to?" he asked as he and Draco turned to face Sirius.

"As a matter of fact it's mine" said Sirius with a grimace.

Harry and Draco gaped at him and Draco said "I've never heard you speak about this place Dad".

Sirius sighed "there's a reason for that boys" he said sadly.

Harry and Draco stayed in place giving him a look which said that they had nothing better to do than hear why.

Sirius sighed again and said "follow me" they walked towards the end of the corridor and Sirius opened a door "lets go in here for some privacy" he said.

The two boys followed him in. They went to sit down only for Sirius to say sharply "wait a moment!" they did so as Sirius proceeded to search the very sofa they had been about to sit on.

After a while Sirius nodded in satisfaction "it's safe for you to sit on".

Harry and Draco sat down looking bemused while Sirius chose to remain standing.

For a while Sirius stood by the cold fireplace not speaking.

Just when Harry was about to ask if he was alright Sirius spoke "I grew up in this house" he told them waving a hand expansively "it's my childhood home". Sirius' face grew sad "not that I had much of one" he then motioned "come on over here" they followed him as he walked over to a large tapestry which lined several walls especially round the area of the door "this is the Black family tapestry" he told them both "every single Black as far back as recorded history is on here".

He tapped a name "this is or rather was my father Lord Orion Black" he tapped another name next to it "this is my mother Lady Walburga Black, she was second cousin to my father. They had me and another son, my brother Regulus".

He tapped two spots on the tapestry under his mother and fathers names "as you can see my brothers name is there but mine...well...mine isn't".

"What happened?" Draco asked sounding shocked.

Sirius grinned slightly "my mother did it after I ran away from home when I was sixteen".

"Where did you go?" Harry asked his eyes wide as he looked at the burn mark.

Sirius chuckled "your Dad's" he said "the Potters were always good to me and Mr and Mrs Potter...your grandparents treated me like a son" he gazed at Harry "guess that's why even though we're not blood related I think of you as my nephew in every sense of the word" Sirius shook himself "you're probably wondering why I ran away" he said.

Both boys nodded "well the fact is that my family has a very dark history. All of the family going back centuries were in Slytherin...until me" he said the last part proudly "my parents hated me" he said matter of factly "because they supported purity of blood as they called it and because they thought Voldemort had the 'right ideas'" he used air quotes "they were right proud of my younger brother Regulus when he took the Dark Mark and began following Voldemort".

To say Harry was stunned would be an understatement. How different could two brothers be?.

"Don't misunderstand me" Sirius said "I loved my brother dearly for many years but when he came to Hogwarts he was sorted into Slytherin and fell in with the wrong crowd, son's and daughters of Deatheaters, what with that and the bigotry and adoration of my parents for Voldemort...well...lets just say he went down a different path to me".

Sirius tapped the tapestry again "this spot next my father is my Uncle who also hated me, you can see his children below".

Harry gaped as he saw two names and a burn mark "you're related to Bellatrix Lestrange?" he said incredulously.

Sirius nodded looking sour "she was always mad even when we were younger, she was older than us you see and more in with Voldemort, it's why she's in Azkaban".

"Right, the attack on Neville's parents" Harry said recalling being told the story by his Dad some years earlier.

Sirius nodded "she hates me and I hate her. Narcissa was always different, sure she was..." he looked at Draco "I won't say anymore" he said.

"It's alright" Draco said "I'm sure she wouldn't mind".

Sirius shrugged "well she was snobbish and had been brought up to believe in purity of blood but unlike Lucius Malfoy" Draco shuddered "and most of our family she didn't hate anyone not pureblood" he told them.

He tapped the burnt off name "and this is their sister Andromeda, my favourite cousin".

Harry and Draco grinned. They both really liked Andromeda as she had looked after them a few times down the years and was very funny "when she married Ted her name was blasted off the tapestry as she was considered to be a blood traitor by my parents and hers".

They left the room and walked up the stairs until they came to a pair of rooms side by side "my room" he tapped the gold name plate that read "Sirius Black" he moved to the next one "my brother Regulus" he said tapping the nameplate. He pushed the door and opened it.

Harry and Draco watched as Sirius stared round the room "I haven't seen the inside of this room since I ran away" he told them.

He sat down on his brothers old bed "you know" he began "there's something...something I've not told many people" his eyes began to shine with tears "my parents...they weren't just verbally abusive...they used physical violence" Harry and Draco looked at him in horror "they especially enjoyed using curses on me, including the..." Sirius choked up "the Cruciatus Curse" he said hoarsely.

He soon found his son and godson sitting next to him on the bed hugging him in comfort and he did seem to take comfort from it.

Eventually they stopped hugging him and all three of them stood up. Sirius tripped and fell over a loose floor board "argh what the hell!" he shouted in surprise as he looked over at the loose board.

Harry had no idea what made him do it but he found himself kneeling down on the floor and prising up the floor board.

Draco peered in the hole made by the board being removed and gasped "there's something down here!".

He made to grab it only for Sirius to pull his son's arm back "no Draco, let me see it first".

Sirius peered into the hole "it's a locket of some kind" he said in amazement "wonder why it's down there".

He stood up and Harry and Draco stood up too "we're not moving it" he said decisively "Dumbledore will be along shortly to take you off on your mission Harry but first...lets have some dinner".

The three of them left the room and headed down the stairs to the hallway. As they reached the bottom and made for another sets of stairs leading down, they found the way blocked by the ugliest House Elf Harry had ever seen in his life.

It had a cruel face that was set into a scowl and white hair growing out of it's bat like ears. Unlike, Molter, Dobby or Tipper this elf showed no warmth in it's eyes as it surveyed them "what other blood traitors has Master brought into this house Kreacher wonders" it said to itself.

"Never you mind Kreacher" Sirius said snappishly "you leave Harry and Draco alone unless they ask for your help, understand?" the House Elf nodded reluctantly "kreacher lives to serve the noble House of Black" it said.

Sirius snorted "not doing a very good job are" he remarked sardonically "this place is filthy" he said "go and do some cleaning" and almost as an after thought he added "and don't go talking to my mothers portrait this time, that's an order".

Kreacher looked mutinous at this order but had no choice other than to obey and so after one last angry look at his Master he disappeared with a crack.

As Harry and Draco followed Sirius downstairs Harry asked "Padfoot, who was that?".

"That was Kreacher the last of the Black family House Elves, he was devoted and still is to my mother". Sirius set about making something to eat for each of them.

"He's always hated me" he explained to them as he set down three plates of jacket potato with cheese "shares my parents views absolutely and always tried to get me into trouble with them".

"He sounds awful!" Draco exclaimed feeling sorry for his Dad.

Sirius shrugged "as much as I loathe him I can acknowledge that it's at least partly the fault of my parents for being such maniacs".

They were nearly finished with their food when the stone fireplace flared up as the flames turned green. Upon hearing the sound the three of them turned to it and found Albus Dumbledore standing there.

The old wizard used his wand to clean off the dust and soot and then said warmly "good evening gentlemen".

They greeted him with variations on hello and then quickly finished off their meal.

Once the food had been eaten Harry said goodbye to his brother and Godfather and headed up through the house to the front door.

They had just reached it when Harry asked the old wizard "why are we leaving from Grimmauld Place Sir?".

Dumbledore paused in the act of opening the door "well you see Harry with Voldemort back and a number of his Deatheaters out there ready to strike at any moment it would not have been wise to use any location they know about, hence the use of Grimmauld Place for this particular mission" he explained.

"I understand Sir" Harry said and then followed Dumbledore as he twisted the knob and pulled the door open.

Harry was about to walk down the stairs when Dumbledore held him back with an arm "no Harry" he said softly "wait one moment".

Harry waited as Dumbledore extracted something from his robes. It looked like an ordinary lighter, the sort of thing Muggles and some wizards and witches used to light cigarettes and cigars. He clicked the item once and the nearest street light went out. He clicked it several more times until every single light in the street was out and anyone peering down into the street would not have been able to see five feet in front of them much less see two wizards apparating.

Dumbledore walked down the steps followed by an amazed Harry "what is that thing Professor?" he said gazing at the item.

Dumbledore smiled "this my dear boy is my very own creation, I call it a Deluminator" the old wizard said proudly "it is one of my favourite inventions and allows the user to extinguish all lights within an area or, if they so wish, to light them".

Once they were just outside of number 12 Grimmauld Place Dumbledore instructed "take my arm Harry, we shall be apparating to our location, or in your case, sidealong apparating".

Harry nodded. He had apparated sidealong a few times and although it required more concentration than floo powder he still preferred it to using the floo network.

Dumbledore stood still for a moment and Harry knew that the Headmaster was concentrating hard on the location he wished to take them to "right, now" the old wizard said.

Harry took his arm, they turned on the spot and the street in which they had just been standing was empty.

After a few moments they touched down on solid tarmac and Harry looked round. He felt glad that he had experienced apparition before as he remembered well the feelings from his first time.

"Welcome Harry, to the charming village of Budleigh Babberton" the old wizard turned to him with a half smile on his face and a twinkling in his blue eyes "I expect you wonder why I've brought you here tonight".

Harry chuckled "to be honest with you Sir, after all the years I've know you I just kind of...go with it".

Dumbledore also chuckled. They began walking down the road "I brought you here tonight for a very important reason" he explained to Harry "I need your help in hiring someone to take over in Potions".

At these words Harry stopped "Professor I've been meaning to say something about that" the old wizard looked at Harry over his half moon spectacles "yes?" he said.

"I think the job might be cursed and I'm worried about Uncle Se...I'm Professor Snape taking it".

"Harry my dear boy I understand your concerns but I happen to know that the curse is very peculiar".

"How so Professor?" Harry asked, intrigued.

"Simply put, anyone with the Dark Mark may take the job on and live, hence why..." Dumbledore paused for a moment "Cedric Diggory lives".

Harry scowled at the mention of this traitor but didn't say anything. They kept walking down the street and Dumbledore resumed his explanation "the man we are going to meet has a certain memory I need you to collect".

"Me Sir?" Harry asked in bafflement "how can I help?".

"The man we are going to meet is Horace Slughorn, former Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts. He has a particular hobby of...collecting bright or famous witches and wizards such as yourself and I have a feeling that with you visiting him alongside me, he'll take the job".

"Do you want him to collect me Sir?" Harry asked feeling sure he knew the answer already.

Dumbledore nodded and said softly "most assuredly my dear boy, I cannot stress enough how much I...we need this memory for it involves Horcruxes".

Harry at once understood the importance of it and hoped that the two of them together would be able to convince the former Potions Master to return to Hogwarts.

The two wizards walked along until they reached a row of hedges with an open wooden gates next to it.

"Ah here we are" said Dumbledore who then faltered as he saw the scene of devastation just up the garden path.

The front door had been ripped from it's hinges and lay forgotten on the front lawn and several windows were broken. As they picked their way cautiously along the path Dumbledore said "wands out Harry and stay alert" Harry whipped his wand from the concealed holster and trained it ahead of him alert for danger.

They stepped into the hallway and saw tables overturned, the phone off the hook and several paintings damaged.

They turned right and entered a sitting room. The place had been complete wrecked. The sofa had been upended, tables lay broken as did vases, glasses all manner of other precious objects. Blood ran down one of the walls. Harry gulped and kept his wand ready.

The only thing undamaged in the room was a large comfortable looking armchair with very rich upholstery.

Dumbledore walked over to the wall on which the blood was running and, to Harry's momentary disgust, tasted it.

He turned to Harry "it's Dragons blood" he said simply.

Harry stared at him in bemusement "Dragons blood?" he asked wondering if he'd heard right.

Dumbledore nodded "yes my boy, Dragons blood, not human" the old wizard smiled and walked over to the large armchair in the corner of the room "this chair is very well upholstered" he commented in what seemed to be a tone of amusement.

He poked the chair for seemingly no reason at all and then, to Harry's total bewilderment, the chair shouted "ouch!" and began to the change. In a matter of moments it had turned from an armchair into...a person!. A very fat person with a bald head and a thick brown, though Harry suspected he dyed it, moustache.

"Don't you know it's rude to do that!" the man snapped as he straightened himself up "oh...it's you Albus" he said irritably "I've told you before the answer is no! I shall not be coming back to teach".

Just then the man's eyes lit upon Harry "why bless my soul!" the man cried out "is it...Harry Potter?" Harry walked over to him and shook his hand "a pleasure to meet you Sir" he said politely.

The man beamed "Harry Potter in my house!" he said "good lord, won't you both sit down?".

Harry and Dumbledore looked round and Dumbledore said with some amusement "Horace don't you think we should..." he indicated the furniture.

The man stared round for a moment and then nodded "yes you're probably right" he replied.

Together the two wizards right furniture, fixed the chandelier on the ceiling and repaired the damage to the paintings, windows and front door.

Once everything had been righted they all sat down. Slughorn then stared at Harry and then Dumbledore as if realising just why Harry was here "ah I see what's going on" he said shrewdly.

"My dear Horace we just came by for a visit" Dumbledore replied calmly.

Slughorn waggled a finger in the Headmasters face "oh no you don't Albus" he said "I know what your game is. You think if Harry Potter is here with you I'll change my mind about returning to Hogwarts but the answer is and has to be no" he said firmly.

"Why?" asked Dumbledore simply.

"Why?" Slughorn repeated the question "why do you think Albus!" he shrieked "Vol...Vol...He Who Must Not Be Named has had his minions out trying to recruit me for weeks. That's why I've been moving around so much" he said "this house belongs to some Muggles holidaying in the Caribbean".

"May I use your toilet Horace?" Dumbledore asked politely as he stood up. The Fat wizard nodded "oh...yes of course Albus, it's just up the stairs and the second door on the left".

Dumbledore left the room after a brief nod to Harry. Harry felt certain that meant he needed to convince Slughorn.

Once Dumbledore was gone Harry said "so...you used to teach Potions at Hogwarts then".

Slughorn nodded "indeed yes" he said getting misty eyed "I taught so many witches and wizards that I've lost count" the fat wizard seemed to get an idea "come with me" he said.

Harry stood up and followed him as the other wizard led him over to a mantelpiece on which sat several framed photographs. He began to point people out to Harry "Barnabas Cuffe, Editor of the Daily Prophet" he said with a smile "always takes my owl if I want to register an opinion on the news of the day".

He pointed out another of a woman in Quidditch robes flying a broomstick "Gwenog Jones, Captain of the Holyhead Harpies" he chuckled "free tickets whenever I want them...of course I haven't been to a match in a while" his face fell for a moment before picking up another one "this is my favourite Slug Club of all time" he said fondly.

"Slug Club Sir?" Harry enquired.

"The Slug Club was a club I established at Hogwarts where wizards and witches of amazing talent and some with good connections could come together, meet and chat with each other and myself" Slughorn informed him "you see there...your mother Lily".

Harry stared at the black and white moving photograph and saw his birth mother smiling and waving "she was ridiculously talented your mother" Slughorn said getting a little teary eyed "very gifted at Potions especially".

He put the photograph down and turned to face Harry "she gave me some never die flowers which kept in a vase at home for several years" he told Harry who had not known this "one day I came into the living room and..." Slughorn's voice caught in his throat "they were gone" he said "that was the night that...that...she died" he finished sadly.

He put a hand on Harry's shoulder "I am very sorry for what happened to her my boy" he said to Harry sincerely "it was a horrible tragedy and one I hope is not repeated".

Just then Dumbledore entered the room "come on Harry it is time we were off" Harry walked over to Dumbledore clearly understanding what was happening.

Slughorn was aghast "you're not leaving already!" he said "you'll at least stay for a drink won't you?".

Dumbledore sighed and put his hands out "I would love to my dear Horace but I fear it would do no good. You have made up your mind and so I must look elsewhere..." he paused a he saw a magazine "don't mind if I take this do you?" he asked holding it aloft "I do so love knitting patterns" and with that the two of them exited the house, walking down the garden path.

They had just reached the gate when running footsteps and a voice told them they'd succeeded "alright Albus damn you!" the voice said sharply "I'll take the job. But I want a payrise" Slughorn insisted "these are dangerous times after all".

Dumbledore and Harry turned to face him and Harry could seen the twinkle in the Professors bright blue eyes. I'll see you at Hogwarts soon then Horace" he replied.

Harry's only thought as they returned to Grimmauld Place by apparition was 'so Dumbledore's a prankster too...figures'.

* * *

Life at Marauder Manor continued normally as the rest of the summer went by. Harry spent his days honing his duelling skills, learning new spells, reading his school books or hanging out at The Burrow, the Manor, Longbottom Manor or Hermione's house.

The time had passed by very quickly in that hot summer and it was now the 1st of September.

For the sixth year in a row (third for Molly) they made the drive from Marauder Manor up to London.

As they pulled into a parking space and unloaded the car two men approached them. The first man was very tall, dark skinned and bald. He was wearing a clean, pressed black suit with white shirt and black tie. His shoes were polished to a high shine. He was joined by a man of almost equal height with short red hair, dressed also in a suit.

"Kingsley, Percy" James shook their hands with a smile "any problems?" they both shook their heads and Percy said "Kingsley has something he wants to tell you boss, I'll get Harry, Draco and Molly here onto the platform".

James nodded in appreciation "thanks Percy" he said gratefully. The younger man smiled and turned to clap the three students on the shoulder "lets go shall we?" he said as he also greeted Remus, Peter and Sirius who had accompanied them.

"What's that all about Perce?" Draco asked him once they were all out of earshot.

Percy smiled "I'll tell you three once we're on platform 9 and 3/4's I don't want you yelling in happiness just yet".

Harry went with Peter onto the platform while Draco went with Sirius and Molly went with Remus as Percy covered their rear and then went through the barrier himself.

As Harry and the others reached the platform they saw the place crammed full of Aurors once again keeping a watchful eye on the students and parents for anyone who might be a Deatheater.

They pulled their trolleys along the platform a short way and then Harry said "so come on then Perce, what's this good news?".

Percy grinned at them all "it's Dolores Umbridge the Ministers former secretary, she's been sent to Azkaban!".

Harry and the others with him cheered and clapped at this news "thank goodness for that" Remus remarked "I had worried she'd escape punishment".

"She's been given a life sentence for using the Imperius Curse" Percy told them.

Harry grinned at this news and turned to see if he could spot Ron and the others "Perce is your family here yet?".

Percy chuckled at this question "you must be joking Harry, you know how disorganised my family is" he said fondly.

Harry chuckled "yeah, I should do by now".

As he had been chatting with Percy he had not seen the group of reporters walking up to them "Mr Potter, Daily Prophet, how do you feel about Dolores Umbridges sentence?".

"Mr Potter, what do you say to those who've had people kidnapped by Voldemort?".

Harry pushed past them "I'm not giving any interviews here" he told the assembled press firmly "now kindly leave me and my family alone. I'll speak to you when I have time".

Harry and the others then pushed past the reporters and photographers as Sirius grinned at them.

All in all, it was a relief for Harry to finally get on the Hogwarts Express and find their usual compartment free of anyone except two people engaged in conversation "Neville, Luna!" he greeted them warmly giving Luna a hug and Neville a pat on the shoulder.

Draco also patted Neville but he was less...ahem...formal with Luna whom he snogged for a good five minutes before they stopped kissing and sat down next to each other "I'm surprised either of you have enough oxygen left after that" Harry quipped causing Neville to laugh.

One by one the rest of the New Marauders arrived in the compartment. Harry greeted them all warmly, especially his girlfriend Ginny who he spent several minutes snogging before Hermione cleared her throat and said to Harry "Harry, Prefects meeting".

Harry sighed and stood up.

Harry and Hermione then said "see you later" to everyone and went off for their meeting in the Prefects carriage.

Harry wondered who would be the Head Boy and Girl this year. When they reached the Prefects carriage they found that all of the Prefects were there. They nodded cordially to all of them including Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass who were the Slytherin Sixth Year Prefects.

They found that Cho Chang and a fellow Ravenclaw Eddie Carmichael had been named Head Girl and Head Boy respectively and seemed to be thoroughly organised as could be expected of Ravenclaws.

Once the meeting was over they left the carriage and went to their task of patrolling the corridors "we should keep a watch as much as possible on Nott this year" Harry said to Hermione as they allowed several Second Years to pass by.

"Are you sure he's even up to anything though?" Hermione questioned "I mean sure he likes dark objects and everything but does that make him a Deatheater".

"Come off it Hermione, there are only three people I can see at Hogwarts having the Dark Mark and Nott is one of them with Crabbe and Goyle being the other two".

Hermione looked sceptical but said nothing further as they went about their duties.

It was dark outside by the time the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station.

Harry and Hermione got their trunks from their compartment and then went to their task of chivying the First Years and other students off the train.

Once they had a group of First Years with them Hermione explained "follow us, we'll take you to Hagrid ok?".

"He's the Hogwarts Gamekeeper" Harry told them with a smile "he's really tall and wide but don't let his size fool you he's really friendly and really helpful".

The frightened First Years followed them to the spot in which Hagrid usually stood.

There was someone standing there alright and calling out "First Years over here!" but it wasn't Hagrid.

This gave Harry pause. Where was his large friend? did he have other duties at the castle?... 'no' he thought immediately. Nothing would have kept Hagrid from welcoming the Hogwarts Express and taking the First Years across the lake.

"Excuse me" Harry said "we've brought these First Years for Hagrid to take across the lake".

The individual raised their lamp up and Harry could see that she was a middle aged woman (in magical terms) with a sharp face and a wrinkled forehead "I see" she said "thank you" her eyes flicked up to his scar "you must be Mr Potter yes? one of the Gryffindor Prefects?" she said.

"Yes I am" he replied "has something happened to Hagrid?" he asked as he shook her hand.

"Professor Hagrid is not at Hogwarts at present I believe he has taken a holiday for his health".

Harry couldn't believe it "so who will be teaching Care of Magical Creatures?" he asked.

"That would be me for the time being" she informed Harry was stunned but nodded "I'm sure you'll do very well professor" he said politely.

The Professor nodded. Harry and Hermione left her and went to join their friends for the carriage ride up to the castle. Unfortunately, when they arrived they found the last carriage pulling away. Harry swore and then apologised "sorry Mione" he said.

She smiled "it's nothing I haven't heard before" she replied "come on lets walk on up".

After twenty minutes or so of walking they reached the gates of Hogwarts. Just outside stood tiny Professor Flitwick and he looked rather annoyed "what kept you?" he demanded.

"Sorry Professor we were talking the temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher" Hermione informed him.

"Oh...I see" Flitwick said, his irritation fading "well you'll have to give me your names Mr Potter and Miss Granger" he said.

Harry and Hermione gaped at him "but Professor...you already know our names" Harry said in puzzlement.

"New security procedures Potter" the tiny Professor replied seriously.

In the end they shrugged and gave him their names.

They headed in through the gates followed by the Professor who muttered several spells and sealed them up.

As they were walking along they saw that Theodore Nott had been pulled to one side and was being questioned by Argus Filch the Caretaker.

While Harry couldn't stand the miserable old so and so he couldn't help but be amused at the fact that even Nott couldn't escape the new security procedures.

It began to rain as they walked up the driveway to the steps and by the time they reached the oak front doors they were both absolutely soaked.

Once they were in the Entrance Hall Hermione took out her wand and muttered the incantation for the Hot-Air Charm. They were soon dry as a bone and walked into the Great Hall feeling a lot happier.

They noticed several Aurors about the place stationed in front of the front doors and in front of the doors to the Great Hall.

They saw at once the rest of the New Marauders sitting at the Gryffindor table and sat down next to them.

Thankfully, the feast had not yet started. When the First Years had arrived led by the new Professor the brim of the sorting hat opened and it began to speak. It's words this year though were not for entertainment but instead a warning to be vigilant, to trust one another and to help keep the school safe. Once the song was over people clapped uncertainly and Ron remarked sardonically "well that was a cheerful song". Once the sorting was over for another year Professor Dumbledore stood up and appealed for quiet "welcome, welcome one and all to Hogwarts. To those of you who are returning I say hello again. To those joining us for the first time I say hello and I hope you like it here. Now before we begin our feast I have a few announcements to make".

Once Dumbledore had got the regular announcements out of the way his face turned more serious "and now I must inform you all that as a result of the return of Lord Voldemort and the resumption of hostilities with those he calls Deatheaters we have been assigned a number of Aurors to guard the most important entrances to the school and keep us safe while the threat to this school and the people within exists. Well on that serious note I now say, tuck in".

As everyone began to tuck into the food and drink the conversation was very lively as many talked about the absence of Hagrid and about the Aurors stationed at Hogwarts.

For Harry, the Aurors being stationed there brought home the fact that his father and godfather were both in danger from Voldemort and his Deatheaters. He hoped they'd be very careful.

His thoughts turned back to Nott and what he was planning for Harry was certain that the Slytherin was up to something. He resolved to keep an eye out as much as possible for anything suspicious.

Once the feast was over Harry spoke to their Seventh Year Prefects to get the password and then exited the Great Hall alongside Hermione leading a group of Fourth and Fifth Years with them.

Once they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady they gave the password which was "Courageous Fight" which seemed appropriate given everything happening now in the wizarding world.

Inside the common room Harry unrolled a piece of parchment and pinned it onto the noticeboard.

The notice about Quidditch try outs was soon being eagerly read by many Gryffindor's and Harry found that there was lot of interest. He gave a warning though "if any of you turn up because I'm famous and not to play then you can leave, choosing players is a very serious business.

Harry's sleep that night was very uneasy and filled with dark dreams.

He had made the decision to speak with Professor Dumbledore as soon as he could. He felt sure he now had a much bigger connection to Voldemort and needed the old wizards advice.

* * *

Authors Note: I know this chapter is about a hundred or so words shorter than usual but I felt the night of their return to Hogwarts was the ideal place to leave it.

Please don't forget to review if you've read my story. Thank you.


	48. Chapter 48

Disclaimer: The Potter Universe belongs to JK Rowling, this is just my fan take on a what if? scenario.

* * *

Chapter Forty Eight: Quidditch Trials, Half Blood Prince and First Lessons

The next day was the first day of classes. Harry and the rest of the New Marauders soon got back into their routine of jogging round the grounds and doing exercises in the Room of Requirement before breakfast.

As they were eating breakfast on the first morning of the new term Professor McGonagall walked over to them with their class schedules.

Harry thanked her as did the others and then proceeded to looked carefully through his lesson plan.

He found that Defence Against the Dark Arts was first that morning followed by a free period and then Charms class which he knew was one of the four that Hermione was taking.

Harry saw that Defence Against the Dark Arts was the first lesson today for those Sixth Years taking it. He shared a grin with Draco and Neville who had both also qualified for NEWT level. Ron had not qualified being better suited to transfiguration and other subjects such as Care of Magical Creatures while Hermione had preferred to continue taking Care of Magical Creatures as one of her NEWT subjects in place of DADA

When they had finished breakfast Harry, Neville and Draco said goodbye to Ron and Hermione who had a free period before their first lessons and Harry, Draco and Neville all kissed their girlfriends.

As Harry walked with Neville and Draco along the corridors and down the stone steps to the Hogwarts dungeons he still felt uneasy with Neville dating Molly. It wasn't that his little sister couldn't handle herself as Ginny had taught her the Bat Bogey Hex and it wasn't that he didn't trust Neville with her it was just...his protective instincts kicking in.

Defence lessons used to be taught in the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower which was where they had had all of their lessons before in the subject but as Harry and Draco's Uncle Severus lived down in the dungeons at Hogwarts Harry supposed it wasn't too surprising that he'd want to hold the classes where he felt most comfortable.

They reached the classroom five minutes early and waited with the other Gryffindor's who'd already arrived. There weren't many of them as Ron had not got a high enough grade, Hermione had dropped the class, Parvati and Lavender had obviously chosen something else 'probably Divination' thought Harry. The only other two Gryffindor's waiting in fact were Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan who were dorm mates with Harry, Ron, Neville and Draco.

Harry gave them both nods and said "hey guys". They greeted him back and they then stood waiting in silence.

The other students waiting for the class were not many as a lot had taken up other classes or not got the required Exceeds Expectations grade.

There was the Muggleborn boy Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan both of Hufflepuff, there were Terry Boot, Lisa Turpin, Anthony Goldstein and Michael Corner of Ravenclaw, Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass of Slytherin and, to Harry's great disappointment, there was Theodore Nott and his two goons Crabbe and Goyle who must have somehow got high enough grades to take the class with their leader.

At nine am on the dot the door to the new Defence classroom opened and Severus Snape ushered them all into the classroom greeting each of them though greeting Nott perhaps a little colder than before.

Harry wondered if his Uncle suspected something.

As they sat down they were instructed to take out quills and books and start taking notes "the art of defensive magic is a precise one" Severus said as he paced back and forth "I can teach it to you if you all have the patience to learn. Be warned that I will not stand for bullying from any student or people not taking the class seriously, the magic taught here is dangerous if not used properly".

"When do we learn the dark curses?" Goyle said his eyes shining fanatically.

Snape's eyes locked on his student "ten points from Slytherin for not putting up your hand Goyle" he said coldly "we will get to the dark curses and their effects later in the school year, you will not be learning how to use them".

Goyle seemed both annoyed at the loss of points and the not learning about dark curses as he glared at Snape for the rest of the lesson.

During the lesson they learned about the blasting hex Bombarda which was used to blow things up and could be useful in creating a distraction.

Once they had learned the theory they were each tasked with blasting an object to pieces using the spell. At the end of the lesson Harry, Draco, Nott and Michael Corner were the only four to successfully do it which was surprising given Seamus' love of blowing objects up.

At the end of the lesson they were tasking with reading up on shield charms that could block the Bombarda spell as their homework while those who had failed to cast the spell or done so wrong were given extra homework of working on their casting of it.

As Harry, Draco and Neville left the class for a free period Harry said "that class was brilliant".

"More than brilliant!" said Neville "we learnt a great new spell and Goyle got points taken away!".

They all laughed though Harry felt a bit uneasy about Goyle's fanaticism and wondered if the fat Slytherin had taken the Dark Mark as he was sure Nott had.

As Neville was the only one of their trio to fail at casting the Bombarda spell properly Harry and Draco decided to use the free hour in the Room of Requirement which they kitted out to be like a duelling room and they spent the next hour until lunch practising the spell until Neville could cast the spell properly and it had some effect. Harry assured him that they'd work on the spell more and casting it would become second nature to him.

Shortly before the free hour was up the three of them put their wands away and headed off to their lesson as all were taking Charms this year.

When they reached the Charms classroom in the Charms corridor they found a few more students than in the Defence class. They greeted Hermione who filled them in on their first lesson in Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Grubbly-Plank. She enthused about the fact that the entire class had been introduced to unicorns. She had slapped Ron on the back of the head for saying they were just horses with a horn on the head. They all had a good laugh at this especially when Hermione revealed Professor Grubbly-Plank had told Ron off and given him extra homework.

Once the rather difficult Charms lesson was over and homework assigned the four of them headed for lunch to meet up with Ron, Ginny and Luna. Neville was, of course, anxious to spend some time with Molly before afternoon classes.

When they reached the Great Hall Harry was anticipating a quiet lunch where the only sound was happy chattering from his friends and him talking to his girlfriend about their morning. Alas it was not to be as student after student from Gryffindor came up to Harry to register their interest in trying out for the House team on Saturday. Among those to show interest were the three Creevey brothers Colin, Dennis and Peter and Harry's sister Molly.

The afternoon lesson that day for Harry was Potions. His brother Draco had also qualified for Potions as had Hermione so when lunch ended the three of them said goodbye to their friends and headed off for class.

As they walked along the corridors towards the new Potions classroom Harry knew he would dread having to make himself look good to Slughorn. It was as they reached the classroom that Harry felt around inside his school bag for his Potions book "I can't find my book!" he exclaimed.

"I wouldn't worry" said Hermione "Professor Slughorn is bound to have some books left over in the store cupboard" she reasoned.

Harry glared at her "what some ratty old copy from twenty years ago?" he retorted irritably. He then calmed down "sorry Mione I know it's not your fault".

Hermione waved it off "don't worry about it" she said smiling.

The class ended up being ten minutes late in starting "where is he?" Draco said sounding annoyed "if we were ten minutes late we'd be getting points docked and all sorts".

"Here he comes now" said Hermione.

Harry and Draco followed her gaze down the corridor as a fat balding man with a thick moustache wearing a waistcoat, tie and chequered trousers came into view hurrying towards them all as his black cloak billowed out behind him.

He soon reached them and had to take some time to get his breath back "my apologies" he said as he looked round at the students.

"Should you be teaching if you're that out of shape?" Nott remarked disdainfully.

Nott was lucky that Professor Slughorn was a nice man "I'll pretend I didn't hear that remark Mr Nott" the Professor said calmly "lets all go in shall we" he pushed open the classroom door and ushered the students in.

As they entered the scent of various potions wafted through the air "don't go to your desks just yet" Slughorn said "I want you to get your textbooks out and gather round me".

"Uh...Professor" said Harry sheepishly "I lost my book on the way here".

Slughorn smiled "not to worry dear boy, take what you need from the students supply cupboard".

Harry flashed a smile of gratitude and headed for the cupboard.

He pulled the door open and began searching. He found quite a few textbooks in there on the shelves but none that seemed to be in any fit state to actually be used for learning...that is until he saw it. There was a book lying separate from the rest. It looked old but as Harry examined it he found that it was in pretty good physical condition. There were a few scratches and the cover was a bit torn but a thumb through showed him that the pages were fine. As he read some of it he saw that it had been written in a lot and there were notes all down the margins as well as in the centre.

In many cases there were different potion instructions to that which was written by the original author of the book.

As Harry closed the cupboard and went over to stand with Draco and Hermione he checked the cover again and noticed that someone had written "this book is the property of the Half Blood Prince".

He pondered over who or what the Half Blood Prince could be and why they left their potions book in the supply cupboard.

"That books looks in good condition to be in there store cupboard" Draco remarked. Harry nodded "it's got someone's name written on the front and lots of writing inside" he quickly showed it to Draco "wow" Draco replied "whoever this person was they made a LOT of notes".

They turned their attention back to Professor Slughorn who was just beginning the lesson "now that we're all ready lets begin shall we" the rotund man said with a beaming smile "now I brewed up a few concoctions this morning. Can anyone tell me what they are and do?".

To no one's surprise Hermione's hand shot into the air at once "yes Miss...".

"Granger Sir" Hermione said. She walked over to the table on which the potions stood and as the students looked on she began to identify them.

After a very quick look she said "the one on the left is Veritaserum. It makes the person who is given it tell the truth and be unable to conceal anything".

She walked over to the other potion "and this one is Amortentia, the most powerful love potion there is. According to scholars it smells differently depending on the person who smells it and what attracts them" Hermione took a sniff "it smells like spearmint mint toothpaste, new parchment and freshly mown grass..." as realising she had said on that Hermione seemed very embarrassed and moved back to join Harry and Draco just as Slughorn called out "well done Miss Granger, take ten points for Gryffindor being able to identify both".

Hermione despite being a bit embarrassed still smiled and was even happier when Harry and Draco congratulated her.

"What I want for all of you today is to brew the best Draught of Living Death you can within the next hour. The person who gets it nearest to perfect will receive this" Slughorn reached behind him and held aloft a glass vial".

The entire class oohed and ahhed as they saw the brilliant gold contents swirling about inside "this my students is...".

"Felix Felicis" Hermione cut in in amazement. She then realised she'd cut in and apologised "I'm sorry Professor I didn't mean to cut in I just...".

"It's alright Miss Granger" Slughorn assured her kindly "I don't mind at all and you are in fact correct, take another five points for Gryffindor".

Hermione blushed as Draco and Harry clapped her on the shoulder "you all have one hour once you have your equipment and ingredients set out. If you are missing anything then take it from the store cupboard" the jolly Potions Master said.

As it was a double lesson they had a decent amount of time to get ready and after ten minutes Harry had all of his ingredients out and ready and a flame already lit under his cauldron.

Hermione was the only person to notice as Harry read the instructions written by whoever had owned the book "you're doing it wrong Harry!" she chided "you're supposed to cut it not crush it" she said imperiously.

"Well it says in the book to crush it so that's what I'm doing" Harry said matter of factly as he finished crushing the bean and began to drip the juice slowly into the cauldron.

When the hour was up most people seemed to have done well. Professor Slughorn went round examining cauldrons and either commended the student for a job well done or for at least giving it a try.

When he came to Hermione's cauldron he said "a wonderful effort Miss Granger. Even better than Mr Blacks. I daresay you'll win the Felix Felicis". Hermione beamed as Slughorn moved on to inspect Harry's cauldron last.

"Ah Harry" Slughorn said with a smile "lets see what we have here". He sniffed it and checked the colour and consistency.

When he was done he looked up from the cauldron to Harry in astonishment "but..but my dear boy!" he said "this is excellent! I...I haven't seen one this good since...since..." Slughorn broke off and something about his face said that he was speaking of Harry's birth mother Lily.

Harry had nodded in gratitude.

Professor Slughorn returned to the table on which stood the potions he'd shown at the beginning of the lesson "well you've all done very well today" he told the students "but there can only be one person who wins this" he said holding the Felix Felicis aloft "and the winner of it today is...".

Hermione beamed confidently while Draco looked neutral about the idea of getting it "Mr Harry Potter".

Hermione's face fell and she turned to glare at Harry who shrugged back 'how can I help it if this Half Blood Prince was a genius' he thought 'still I should say something to her after class' he told himself as he didn't want to spoil their friendship.

As Slughorn walked over to Harry and handed him the vial the other students, minus Draco, looked on enviously, after all...who wouldn't want that kind of luck?.

That evening in the Room of Requirement where the New Marauders were relaxing and doing homework Draco remarked on the book "you were good in Potions before Harry but that book has made you ten times better" he said.

"Better or not it's someone's property and he's going to hand it in...aren't you Harry" she said as she fixed a stern gaze on her best friend.

Harry cringed before it but his brother cut in "hand it in? Hermione he'll be a Potions genius if he keeps using it".

"But it's not because of pure talent!" Hermione shouted angrily.

Everyone turned to look at her. When Hermione got angry she tended to have this effect "but I had talent in the subject already" Harry reasoned "this book is just helping to hone my skills".

"If you'd did it the same as me we'd have had an equal chance of getting the potion" she said snappishly.

Harry grinned "so that's what it's all about" he fished the Felix vial out of his school bag "you're angry with me..over this?" he said incredulously.

Hermione nodded "why wouldn't I be?".

Harry laughed "because I'm not using it all on myself" he said and then chuckled again at the confused look on his friends face "you don't need much of this to be lucky so I'm going to use some for myself and give a bit each to the rest of you" he told the other six New Marauders.

Hermione hung her head suddenly feeling ashamed "I shouldn't have spoken like that before checking. Sorry Harry" she mumbled sounding upset.

Harry hugged her "it's forgiven" he assured her "you're like a sister to me you know that".

"I guess you're like the brother I never had" she said a little bit teary eyed.

The time until they had to leave the room passed very happily after that incident was smoothed over.

* * *

As the week went by Harry made the decision to find out just who the Half Blood Prince were or had been as he was very grateful for the boost to his potions ability.

He wouldn't have minded not being top of the class but he had a job to do which neccessitated trumping even Hermione in Potions. He had to get into the Slug Club. Had to be...collected. He had to get that memory on Horcruxes. It was of key importance in shortening the Second Wizarding War.

He had been reading every day at breakfast and every evening at dinner the Daily Prophet, desperately hoping that his family and the family of his friends, the Professors and the other students were alright.

Sadly the disappearances had begun. He had written a letter to his Godfather Sirius about it and had been surprised when he received a call on his two way mirror "hey Prongslet" the older wizard said.

Harry laughed in surprise and said "you haven't called me by that nickname in years Padfoot".

Sirius shrugged "you don't mind do you?".

Harry shook his head "not at all, how is everyone at the Manor?" he asked anxiously.

"We're doing just fine" he assured Harry "missing you, Draco and Molly of course but we're getting on. We've got a few Aurors here at the Manor, since your Dad is Head Auror the Minister felt we need more protection".

Both their faces grew serious (no pun intended) "have you seen the Daily Prophet?" Harry asked.

His Godfather nodded heavily "it's getting worse out there" he said "it's just a good job the Minister believes us and has increased the number of Aurors and is working hard to keep us safe. That reminds me, I don't know if Dumbledore has said anything but there is to be a meeting at Hogwarts on Saturday night".

Harry frowned "do you know why?" his Uncle was already shaking his head "sorry Harry. I only know that there will be a meeting".

They were both silent for a moment and then Harry said "this war is going to get really bad...isn't it".

His Godfather did not say anything for a moment before he replied slowly "it...feels like it did...the last time".

Harry shivered despite the heat.

"I'll see you on Saturday Harry" his Godfather said.

Harry nodded "bye Padfoot...I love you" he said on impulse.

His Godfather smiled "I love you too Prongslet" the connection was broken and Harry was left to his thoughts 'a meeting on Saturday? what could be so urgent?'.

* * *

That Saturday morning Harry awoke early, fully intending to carry out his usual morning routine of exercises and then breakfast.

The other New Marauders joined him as usual but when they reached the oak front doors two Aurors, Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks stepped in their way "sorry Harry" Tonks said regretfully "orders from Dumbledore".

"You aren't to leave the castle except to go into Hogsmeade or visit Hagrid and only then if an Auror accompanies you" Kingsley explained.

"But I always go for a jog round the grounds at this time of the morning" Harry insisted.

"Then one of us will have to come with you" Kingsley said stubbornly.

Harry sighed "fine" he replied testily. His eyes lit on Tonks "Tonks will you...".

"Sure I'd love to" she replied with a grin.

Kingsley stepped out of the way, the large oak doors opened and Harry, the rest of the New Marauders and Tonks all stepped outside.

As they began to jog round the grounds Harry asked "how are things with you and Moony?".

Tonks smiled and halted "I expect you'll all want to hear this" she said.

The others stopped and walked over to them "me and Remus are getting married in April!" she said excitedly "during the Easter Holidays".

Harry grinned widely at this revelation as not only would he be able to attend, he'd be able to help out "that's amazing Tonks" he enthused as he hugged her.

She received hugs from everyone else while Hermione, Luna and Ginny began to chat to her about the preparations.

After a shower, a change of clothes and some breakfast Harry felt refreshed and ready for the rest of the day. And what a long day it was going to be.

That morning and much of the afternoon would be spent holding Quidditch try outs for various positions which he'd have to lead. The evening would be spent holding the years first Defence Association meeting and later in the night was the meeting of the Order of the Phoenix.

As Harry, Ron, Draco, Neville, Hermione, Ginny and Luna all exited the Great Hall Professor McGonagall approached them and said "the meeting is to take place tonight in the Room of Requirement at ten pm".

The seven of them nodded seriously "we'll be there Professor" Harry said in his role as group spokesman.

The witch nodded and said "I am to oversee the try outs and all Quidditch practises from now on to keep the Gryffindor students safe".

As Harry, his brother and friends exited the castle later together with Professor McGonagall they were joined by Kingsley and another surprise visitor "Percy!" Ron exclaimed "I didn't know they'd assigned you duty here" Ron said in surprise.

His older brother grinned "I managed to convince Auror Potter to give me this assignment alongside Tonks and Kingsley".

The group including Professor McGonagall then walked down to the Quidditch stadium.

Once they reached the Stadium Professor McGonagall informed them that she would sit up in the stands while the two Aurors would keep a watch on the changing rooms.

It seemed the two Aurors were taking no chances at all as they thoroughly inspected both sets of changing rooms for any sign of someone intending to do harm to Harry.

While the over protectiveness irritated Harry to a certain extent he also felt a lot safer knowing that there were two people he trusted who were very well trained and able to keep him from being kidnapped again.

As he pulled on his Quidditch robes he shuddered as the scene from the graveyard flashed through his mind. When he was finally ready he picked up his broom and clipboard. He slung the broom over his shoulder and exited the changing rooms knowing that it would be a long day.

When Harry stepped out onto the pitch to begin the trials he stopped and gaped as it seemed that half the school had arrived to try out.

Indeed, he could see several Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaws in amongst the Gryffindor's and sighed as he guessed that they were there simply due to his being famous.

He pushed his way through the crowd to the stands with help from Percy and Tonks. When he reached them he said "Professor can you help get rid of the non-Gryffindor's?".

Professor McGonagall put her book down, stood up and walked through the crowd with harry, Percy and Tonks.

The students were all chatting loudly to each other and in end Professor McGonagall was forced to use a spell Harry had only seen used a few times before "Sonorous" she said calmly before saying loudly to the assembled students "any student here for try outs who is not a Gryffindor is to leave at once!".

Many obeyed but some stayed stubbornly on the pitch forcing the Professor to say "that is an order and if I have to tell any of you again I shall take points from your House!". These words had the remaining Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaws reluctantly walking off the pitch and through the crowd entrance.

Once they were gone Harry turned to Professor McGonagall and flashed her a smile as he said gratefully "thanks Professor".

"If you need anything else Potter I shall be over in the stands" she replied.

Harry nodded in gratitude and then asked her "can you please send Ginny over here Professor?".

McGonagall agreed to do so and headed back for the stands. A few moments later Ginny was by Harry's side giving his hand a reassuring squeeze.

Harry tried to call the Gryffindor's hopefuls attention to him "listen up everyone" he called out only for them to keep talking.

He tried again "excuse me everyone I need your attention!". Again he was ignored.

"Oi you lot, shut up and pay attention!" Ginny shouted.

This did the trick as the Gryffindor's immediately stopped talking and focused their attention on Harry.

"Thanks love" Harry said to Ginny.

She grinned "any time honey" she said in reply.

"Now then everyone" Harry began as he consulted the clipboard "the first position up is Goalkeeper" he informed them all "anyone trying out for the position step forward. The rest of you move off to the sides, you'll get your chance soon".

Once the goalkeeping hopefuls had stepped forward Harry said "right then, you'll go up one by one and try to save as many shots as possible. I'll make my decision based on the number of saves and on technique".

He called for three volunteers who were Chaser hopefuls and soon Harry, the three would be Chasers and the first goalkeeping hopeful, a scared First Year were in the air ready for the trials to start.

It did not take long for the first three of the five hopefuls to be eliminated with only Ron and an arrogant Seventh Year named Cormac Mclaggen being left.

Cormac went first and seemed to be doing quite well.

Harry feared that he may have to give him the position despite his arrogance due to his skills. He was angry when Cormac called out "hey Granger, how about dating a proper man?".

He wanted to hit Mclaggen on behalf of both Hermione and Ron. He saw that Ron was furious and clearly about to attack the git.

Just as it looked like Mclaggen would end up being the best hopeful there was he began to make mistakes.

The Seventh Year had saved all of the first ten attempts but missed every single one of the next five.

Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Hermione murmuring and suppressed a laugh. He guessed she was getting revenge for herself and her boyfriend by showing up Mclaggen.

Harry called a halt a short time later after Mclaggen had let in twelve goals out of twenty two shots.

"I...I don't know how that happened" Mclaggen stammered in shock "I'm...better than that...usually".

Harry raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he shot back into the air to watch as Ron took up his position in front of the three hoops.

Harry had to smile as his best friend put on a tantalising goalkeeping display keeping out all but two out of twenty one shots. It seemed that Ron was fiercely determined to keep Mclaggen out of the team.

Ron zoomed down to the ground and landed along with the three Chasers and Harry.

Mclaggen and Ron stood side by side as they waited for the Captains decision. It did not take Harry very long at all to decide. Ron had saved more efforts, Ron had more team spirit and he had no arrogance.

"The new Gryffindor Goalkeeper is...Ron Weasley". At these words Cormac looked mutinous "him?!" he spat "he's a joke" Mclaggen scoffed "we'll get crushed with him in goal".

"I don't think we will Mclaggen" Harry replied coldly "in the first place he saved more than you and in the second place he lacks your arrogance".

At these words Mclaggen seized Harry by the front of his robes and yelled "I'll make you sorry for this! I should be Captain!".

"Mr Mclaggen let him go!" a voice called out sharply. It was Professor McGonagall who had pushed through the crowd and was now glaring at the Seventh Year.

"I have every right to be angry Professor!" Mclaggen shouted as his anger overcame his good sense "he only gave this position to Weasley because of their friendship!".

"That's not true!" Harry protested hotly "I gave him the position because of his skill and attitude" he told Mclaggen simply "I'd have given you the position if you'd been as good and shown more team spirit".

"Mclaggen you let Mr Potter go or you will have detention!" McGonagall said angrily.

Mclaggen let him go but shoved him to the ground "whatever" he said dismissively "didn't want to be on this joke of a team anyway" the Seventh Year turned to two boys who were evidently his friends "come on guys". He and the other two Seventh Year then left in a huff.

With that unpleasant experience over Harry dusted himself off and continued the try outs "ok up next are the try outs for the Chaser position".

Without prompting, the Chaser candidates including his brother Draco and dorm mates Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas all stepped forward with several Seventh Years, Fifth Years, Fourth, Third and Second Years. It seemed that no First Years wished to try out for such a position. There were ten candidates and of course only three positions so to make his decision Harry had them trio up in various combinations and based his choices on flying skill, agility, shots attempted and shots goals.

Harry enjoyed this part of the training infinitely more as he watched the Chasers combining up, sometimes fluidly, other times more sloppy. Bombing down the wing or through the centre, doing swoops, dives, loops and confusing their opposition in order to score.

It took a while to make his decisions but in the end Harry went with his brother Draco, Seamus Finnegan and Colin Creevey a Fifth Year Muggleborn student who hero worshipped him.

Once the Chasers had been decided the try outs continued to find the right two Beaters. Harry was looking for two students who were strong above anything but also had very good flying skills.

A large part of the try out centred on whacking away as many bludgers from team mates as possible. It may sound dangerous but Harry felt that the players needed to experience what they'd be up against before deciding to join the team. The last thing he wanted as a Captain was for a player to drop out because they couldn't handle the brutal nature of the game.

In the end it came down to four choices of which the two best players were a Third Year named Jimmy Peakes who was confident but not arrogant and the second new Beater was Ritchie Coote a Second Year who was very talented but quite nervous.

Harry had taken note of Ritchie's nervousness and with the rest of the team had resolved to ease his nerves and ensure he felt he belonged on the team.

With the main seven positions chosen for the team the try outs now moved on to the substitute players those students who would play if someone were too ill or injured to be on the team.

Among those chosen as substitutes were Ginny for Seeker due to her speed, her instinct and her ability to catch the snitch from the most daring of situations. Neville was chosen as a substitute Beater due to his size and skill but lack of confidence.

Dean Thomas, Dennis Creevey and Parvati Patil became substitute Chasers.

The substitute Goalkeeper and second Beater positions posed a problem as the best keeper aside from Ron had been Cormac Mclaggen and Harry refused to have him anywhere near the team after his temper tantrum.

As a result two substitute positions remained unfilled.

* * *

Authors Note: Hope you all enjoyed this first chapter of Sixth Year. In the next chapter we'll see an Order meeting and the first Quidditch match of the season.


	49. Chapter 49

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter

* * *

Chapter Forty Nine: Quidditch, Order Meeting and A revelation

That evening the first Hogwarts Defence Association meeting of the year was held in the Great Hall following dinner.

All of the students attending it got a shock but a rather nice shock as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore remained in the hall after the end of dinner along with Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick.

"Myself, Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick shall be joining all of you for your Defence meeting tonight and for the next two months to help you all learn several more useful defensive and offensive spells to fight off Deatheaters and many dark creatures that wish you harm".

Everyone was very impressed by this and felt very excited to be taught by four very respected and magically talented witches and wizards.

The Defence meeting that evening turned out to be one of the best and most useful meeting yet as the students learned several new spells and honed their skills in other spells such as Rictusempra and Expeliarmus.

At nine thirty pm the Defence meeting finished but instead of leaving the Great Hall Harry, Draco, Ron, Neville, Hermione, Ginny and Luna waited for Professors McGonagall, Dumbledore and Snape whom they knew would be attending the meeting with them.

Once the Professors had fixed the Great Hall up ready for breakfast the next morning they walked up to the New Marauders.

Harry was surprised to see Professor Flitwick still with them. In response to Harry's unasked question Dumbledore explained "Professor Flitwick has been sounded out about joining the Order and has agreed to put his duelling skills to use".

Harry grinned at this. Everyone knew that the diminutive Professor was a champion dueller having won medals competing for England at the Wizard Games in the 1970s.

The group of students and Professors made their journey from the Great Hall up to the entrance of the Room of Requirement mostly in silence save for one moment when Harry asked "what's the meeting for Professor?".

"I can't tell you just yet Harry, the possibility of unfriendly ears you know".

Harry accepted this explanation as it was better to be safer than sorry in their discussions. He supposed that was why the Room of Requirement was being used for the meeting as no sound could leave the room which would ensure that their discussion could not be betrayed.

When they reached the corridor in which the entrance to the room was situated Dumbledore went through the established procedure of pacing back and forth three times while thinking what function he wished for the room.

The door to the room appeared. Dumbledore pushed it open and ushered his fellow Professors and the New Marauders into the room.

As they entered Harry saw that there was a very long oak table in the centre which many chairs. The room was well lit by several wall sconces and a section of the room had been set aside for refreshment for those attending the meeting.

As Harry went to stand by one of the chairs he had the feeling that there would be many people attending the meeting and decided that it must be on a very important subject or subjects for so many chairs to be there.

After a short wait people began to arrive for the meeting.

The first two wizards to arrive were Fred and George Weasley Ron and Ginny's older brothers who greeted the New Marauders warmly and exchanged several jokes with them.

They were followed by Molly and Arthur Weasley with Arthur exchanging handshakes with everyone and hugging his daughter and son while Molly grabbed everyone except Snape and Dumbledore in her usual bone crushing hugs.

The next to arrive were several Aurors namely Percy Weasley, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Frank and Alice Longbottom and Nymphadora Tonks.

A squib named Arabella Figg turned up and was joined by Alastor "Mad Eye" Moody, Dedalus Diggle, Elphias Doge, Hestia Jones and to Harry's surprise the former Minister of Magic Amelia Bones with whom he exchanged a warm handshake.

Other attendees included Bill Weasley a Gringotts curse breaker an unexpected order member in the form of Fleur Delacour with whom Harry had exchanged letters and become friendly with. She kissed everyone on the cheek and gave Harry a hug as she said how glad she was to see him.

The final attendees to the meeting were Harry and Draco's Parents, Aunts and Uncles who all arrived together.

Once everyone had found a seat Dumbledore called the meeting to order "my dear friends and acquaintances" he began "I apologise for calling a meeting at this time of night but I am afraid it was unavoidable. There have been several new developments that merit urgent discussion and making of plans "James if you would".

Harry's Dad stood up and cleared his throat "the things I must tell everyone are absolutely top secret. They are not to go beyond this room. James looked at his son as he said this no doubt knowing that Harry would otherwise have told Molly whatever was discussed. Harry and many others nodded their agreement of this.

"The first and most alarming development concerns the Dementors of Azkaban and the prisoners they guard" James said.

Everyone looked very tense as they waited for him to begin speaking "I regret to say that the Ministry's over-reliance on the dark creatures known as Dementors has come back to haunt us as the Dementors have not only abandoned their posts at Azkaban Prison they have also attacked and kissed most of the duty Aurors stationed there while allowing Voldemort to use his power to free all of the Azkaban prisoners" he informed a stunned room.

Harry looked at the Aurors and judged that they must have already been told this news as they all looked angry and upset rather than surprised "there are, as of tonight, many Deatheaters and Dementors on the loose. I would urge extra security measures be taken here at Hogwarts to prevent Voldemort's followers from attacking this castle".

James consulted his notes "it may also interest you to know that an already kissed individual and Deatheater was taken from his cell by Voldemort. His name is Lucius Malfoy".

Beside him Harry could feel Draco tense up and patted his brother reassuringly on the back. Over their mental link he said "don't worry about it. If he somehow becomes a threat we can deal with him". This reassurance seemed to calm his brother down.

Unfortunately this wasn't the only piece of bad news "word has come through from our spy inside the Deatheater ranks that Voldemort is seeking something that he did not have in the last war".

Harry's mind went over what weapons Voldemort could possibly acquire that would be powerful enough to draw more attention to himself from the Ministry and the Order "it is a prophecy" Harry who had been lost in thought snapped his gaze to his father who looked at him as he said "about my son Harry. Voldemort wants it very bad in order to ensure he has all the information necessary to...to defeat my son".

Harry knew what that meant. Clearly Voldemort believed that this prophecy contained the means with which to destroy Harry and win the war for himself and his dark followers "then we must get it away from the Ministry!" Lucy shouted "I'll not have my son put in danger by this".

Many others around the table voiced support for this idea and conversation turned to where they could hide such a magical object that would keep it safe and out of Voldemort's reach "here at Hogwarts" Harry said suddenly.

All eyes turned to him "Hogwarts is the safest place in the wizarding world and there are more than enough rooms within the castle and grounds in which to hide the prophecy".

"Why don't we set up decoys?" Ron suggested ever the strategic genius "if we place fake prophecy orbs in various areas of the castle we will then have time to destroy or spirit away the real one if Deatheaters or other dark beings enter the castle aiming to steal it".

Harry grinned. The idea was a stroke of absolute genius. It would keep the prophecy safe while also confusing any of Voldemort's followers.

The discussion now turned to just how they would get the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries in which it was housed.

This was simple enough if they clued in the Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge who, while not a member of the Order, nevertheless knew about and supported the organisation as being able to carry out the sort of tasks the Ministry couldn't due to political reasons.

It was decided that Professor Dumbledore would contact the Minister. Rather than ask for a meeting he would request the Minister to ask him to stop by as this would lessen the suspicion of any disloyal elements within the Ministry. Given how much Dumbledore was consulted for advice on various issues his summoning to the Ministry would not be a surprise to most.

When Dumbledore met the Minister he would explain that the prophecy about Harry needed to be removed as Voldemort was aware of it and would try to steal it.

It was most definitely in the Ministers interest to get the prophecy away as it would, at least temporarily, lessen the chance of a Deatheater attack on the Minister or his staff with Voldemort concentrating on other more important matters.

When the meeting ended at midnight Harry was about to follow the others from the room along with Professor McGonagall when a voice spoke "Harry would you mind staying behind for a moment?".

"I'll see you in a bit" Harry told the rest of the New Marauders as he hung back. Once he and Dumbledore were alone he asked "what did you need to see me about Professor?".

"It's about you being a Horcrux my boy" Dumbledore said softly.

Harry's throat constricted. This was the first time since learning he was a Horcrux that Dumbledore or anyone else had brought the subject up.

"I regret to say that all my research has yielded only one way for the Horcrux inside you to be destroyed" as he said these words Dumbledore looked at Harry with sadness in his blue eyes. He knew that the old wizard regarded himself, Draco, Molly, David and the twins as the grandchildren he'd never had "I wish there was another way Harry I really do" the Headmaster said earnestly "but I'm afraid to eliminate the Horcrux you must die".

Harry stared at him in horror hoping that he had heard wrong "die?" he croaked.

Dumbledore nodded sadly in confirmation "I'm afraid so my boy and I'm more upset about it as Voldemort must be the one to do it".

"So I have to face Voldemort and let him kill me?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore nodded again "yes my boy".

Dumbledore then said "there is a way for you to come back however".

Harry gaped in surprise "isn't death...you know...final?" he said uncertainly.

Dumbledore chuckled and shook his head "most times my boy but this time it won't be" he replied confidently "for you see I have something here that as long as you hold will bring you back".

The old wizard reached into a pocket of his robes and pulled something out. It was a stone shaped much like a diamond but much darker in colour. In fact the stone was almost black "this Harry, was embedded in the ring of Marvolo Gaunt" Dumbledore explained "the ring itself was stolen by Tom Riddle who used it to create a Horcrux. What the then Riddle did not know was that the ring itself contained the Resurrection Stone".

Harry gazed reverently at the dark stone which Dumbledore held in the palm of his hand "you mean this..is the Resurrection Stone?" Harry breathed as he gazed at the stone. It was exquisite.

"Yes my boy and with it you can return from death" Dumbledore told him "all you need do is have the Stone in one hand when you die and you will be brought back".

"Is there a way I can lure Voldemort to me so he can kill me?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore considered the question carefully before he said "I believe there is one thing that would draw him out of hiding".

"The prophecy" Harry guessed at once.

"Exactly so my boy" Dumbledore replied "Voldemort needs the prophecy but he will forget all about it once you appear".

"But where could such a confrontation happen?" Harry mused "it can't happen at the Manor and it would be too risky to do so at the Ministry of Magic".

"The answer is staring you in the face Harry" Dumbledore said.

Harry looked at him in bemusement "it is?" he said "where?".

"Here of course dear boy" Dumbledore said.

Harry wasn't sure for a moment if his Headmaster and friend was being serious or having a laugh with him. One look at Dumbledore's face told him the old wizard was deadly earnest. The man's bright blue eyes which normally twinkled were not twinkling now and he was not smiling.

"But you can't be serious Professor!" Harry said loudly "that's madness!".

"Is it any more mad than facing Voldemort at all?" Dumbledore asked.

"It...but...I suppose not" Harry conceded. As he thought about the idea though he came upon a problem "how would Voldemort and his followers get in though?" he asked Dumbledore.

The old wizard did not speak for a moment but then said "I believe you have suspicions about Theodore Nott" he said.

Harry shrugged "I won't apologise for having them" he said defensively "he's a slimy git...pardon the language Professor. I'm convinced he's taken the Dark Mark and is up to something".

Dumbledore smiled seemingly in satisfaction "I told everyone you'd get it" he said "Mr Nott has indeed become a Deatheater and has been tasked by Voldemort with killing me and Professor Snape".

"Uncle Severus!" cried Harry. He knew of course that his Uncle had the Dark Mark and that he had been a Deatheater before changing his ways.

Now seemed as good a time as any to bring up the subject of his Uncles Mark, sadly however when he put the question to Dumbledore the answer he received was not good "I am afraid that nothing currently exists which could remove a persons Dark Mark from their arm. I'm sorry Harry" he said regretfully.

Harry decided to return to the subject of Nott "so you say he's planning to kill you and my Uncle" he said "how?".

"Our spy within the Deatheater ranks has informed us that he is planning to use a pair of vanishing cabinets one of which is inside the Room of Requirement and the other of which is in Borgin and Burkes shop in Knockturn Alley".

Harry was stunned "what do we do about it?...the plan I mean" he said.

"Simple dear boy. We allow the Deatheaters to come in but only once Voldemort knows the prophecy is here. He will exit the Room of Requirement, you will confront him. He will kill you thus harming himself and ridding you of the Horcrux. I will then appear and fight him. Being weakened by the loss of a Horcrux he will flee".

"That plan sounds very dangerous and relies a lot on..." Harry paused "luck" he said as a light when on in his head "I'll need another vial of Felix Felicis" he told the Headmaster "that way I can use mine for myself in getting the memory from Professor Slughorn and everyone else can have some too".

Dumbledore nodded approvingly "I'll get Horace to brew some more of it up" he said "I won't explain why. He respects me so he won't mind this request".

With this plan hatched Harry left Dumbledore's Office, pass in hand to return to his common room.

When he reached the common room Harry found himself confronted by six other New Marauders waiting by the fire 'Draco must have read my mind' he guessed.

"Hey guys" he said trying and failing to sound nonchalant.

"Forget it Harry" Draco said seriously "I've read your mind and told the others about this insane plan".

Harry looked round at his friends and family. He sighed "you lot may think it's crazy but you all know that I'm a Horcrux. This is my only chance to get rid of this corrosive bit of Voldemort's soul. I can't face him in the final battle with a Horcrux within me".

"There must be another way!" Ginny shouted at him. He could tell his girlfriend was close to tears.

"Well there isn't" he said simply "I wish there was and I wish that we didn't have to take this horrible risk but..." he threw his hands up "we have no choice".

"But isn't it...you know...really risky?" Ron said worried.

Harry shrugged "everything in life carries risk with it" he replied "but I think we have something old Moldy Shorts wants enough to come here in person".

"What could possibly be that important?" Hermione asked incredulously.

Harry looked to each one of the New Marauders as he pondered how to answer such a loaded question. Eventually he decided on the truth "you all know of the prophecy between me and Voldemort" they all nodded "you all know what it says" again there were nods "well every prophecy ever made in the Wizarding World is kept in an orb like object which is named and kept in a place called the Department of Mysteries".

"They just...keep them there?" Luna said in disbelief.

Harry nodded "they seem to think they're safe there for some reason" he said "anyway" he continued "my prophecy is kept on a shelf in said department and Voldemort is desperate to obtain it because he thinks it will help him defeat me".

"How can a prophecy help Voldemort beat you?" Neville cut in.

"Don't know" said Harry "to be honest I don't think it can but that's not important".

"The point to all this is that the prophecy needs to be moved to keep it away from Voldemort" Harry finished.

"And you think it would make ideal bait for Voldemort by keeping it here at Hogwarts" his brother, quick on the uptake as always guessed easily.

"Exactly" said Harry "I get that it's a risk but I think it'll work".

"There's one massive flaw you know Harry" Ron, ever the strategist, pointed out "Deatheaters and Voldemort will never be able to get passed the castles wards to get near the prophecy in the first place".

Harry grinned "that's where you're wrong" he said "you see I happen to know that a certain Slytherin is planning to let Deatheaters into the castle".

"Shouldn't we do something then?" Ginny asked urgently.

Harry shook his head "no. What we should do is nothing. He's trying to fix the vanishing cabinet in the Room of Requirement. We let him successfully fix it and then we leak the fact the prophecy is here which will lure old Moldy Shorts into the castle".

Despite their scepticism his friends and family declared they would go along with the plan. To Ron it was actually rather amusing to use Nott when he thought he was succeeding in his task.

* * *

The rest of September went by very quickly for Harry as his time was taken up by classes, homework, Defence Club, Quidditch practise and spell work.

The month of October was cold and wet with persistent rain almost every day. The grounds became slick with mud and Harry made the choice to scale back Quidditch practises.

The 31st of October, Halloween, dawned cold and wet as had the rest of October. Harry awoke that morning with a dread feeling in the pit of his stomach.

He was not sure what the feeling was but he felt it to be likely his subconscious reacting to the one day of his life that he could never bring himself to enjoy.

Halloween was, after all, the same day when his birth mother Lily had been murdered by his nemesis Voldemort.

As the day wore on the feeling of unease grew more and more. It persisted through his morning workout routine, through breakfast, through lunch and all the way to the Halloween feast in the Great Hall.

Professor Dumbledore had just finished his speech and the students and staff just began tucking into the sumptuous food and drink on offer when the fluttering of wings could be heard and a single solitary grey owl floated down towards the Gryffindor table.

Every single Gryffindor student including Harry stared at the owl like it was a harbinger of doom and the envelope in it's talon were the bringer of evil tidings.

As the owl landed in front of Neville, the slightly pudgy boy said nothing. He merely stared at it. It seemed that he was frozen in place. He made no move to take the letter which the owl had dropped onto the table.

"Harry" Neville said in a haunted voice "can...can you..." his friend stammered.

Harry nodded "you don't need to ask Nev" he replied.

As the Gryffindor's turned their attention to the envelope Harry picked it up, tore it open and pulled out a single piece of parchment which he began to read. He immediately recognised his Dad's handwriting.

Letter:

Dear Neville,

I'm sure you must be wondering why I'm writing this letter and not either one of your parents.

I'm sorry to be the bearer of evil tidings but I'm afraid I have some awful news about events from an hour ago.

Your parents Frank and Alice were on what was supposed to be a routine raid with several other Aurors but it was a trap. I'm afraid that your parents and several of the Aurors were betrayed by a traitor within our own ranks who informed the Deatheaters that the Aurors would be there...none of them survived the resulting fight.

I tell you all of this not only as Head Auror but as a good friend of your fathers. I understand if you would wish to live with your grandmother as she is your last family left but I offer you a place to live until such time as you want to move on.

Once again I am so very sorry for this tragic incident. My kindest regards and sympathies.

James Harold Potter, Head Auror, Ministry of Magic.

When Harry finished the letter he was white faced. He handed it to Neville and said "I'm sorry Neville...your parents are dead".

For a long moment his friend did not react until he eventually began reading the letter. When Neville was finished he dropped the letter back onto the table and cried. The sound was chilling. It was the sound of someone who is totally and utterly broken "no!" he howled out repeatedly.

Harry didn't know what to do or say and was grateful when his sister got up, moved round to Neville's side of the table and pulled her boyfriend into a tight almost bone crushing hug.

Neville was so broken by the revelation of his parents deaths that he went to bed early that night and was not at breakfast the next day.

Harry was not surprised as he expected it to be a long time before his friend would be able to absorb the loss.

* * *

The 1st of November was a Friday and that evening after classes finished, a party was held for Molly in the Gryffindor common room which was very well attended by students, Professors and family.

That night after the party ended there was another meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry felt he knew what the two main talking points would be.

As the order members gathered and meeting began he found that he was right "the first order of business this night is the betrayal by a member of the Auror Squad" Professor Dumbledore said. He then yielded the floor to Harry's Dad who Harry noted looked very angry indeed.

"Thank you Albus" James Potter said with a nod of respect. He held a folder from which he pulled several sheets of parchment "I am sorry to say that our traitor was none other than John Dawlish".

This elicited many gasps and a few muttered oaths especially from Sirius "he was offered a large amount of galleons for his treachery and as it was more than he earned in a year he decided to take it" James explained in disgust.

"He should be shoved through the veil!" Sirius shouted to many nods of agreement.

"I would never normally condone such a thing" James began "but I'm afraid we have little choice. My Aurors..." he nodded to Kingsley, Tonks, Sirius and Percy "are stretched thin as it is and can't spend all their time guarding Azkaban and the Ministry holding cells are not suited to long term use so we have no other option than to send him through the veil".

It was soon agreed by majority vote that the Order officially approved of this decision and would support it.

"As to the second reason for our meeting" Dumbledore began "we have had more intelligence from our spy amongst the Deatheaters. He has informed us that the planned assault on Hogwarts will take place on the evening of the 30th of June and consequently we are taking steps to lay our trap. To this end I have already had a meeting with Minister Fudge, he has been appraised of the situation regarding the prophecy and has agreed that it needs to be moved here for security reasons".

Dumbledore nodded to James "to this end myself, Sirius, Arthur and Percy will head into the Department of Mysteries, remove the prophecy with Harry and bring it back here to Hogwarts".

"Where will we place it?" Tonks asked the obvious question.

"We shall keep it locked securely in my office until the day before the attack on the castle. We shall then move it into a room near the Room of Requirement ready for Harry to use it to distract Voldemort".

* * *

The following day Saturday the 2nd of November saw Harry take one of the more bizarre trips of his life to the Ministry of Magic.

He flooed there with his Uncle Sirius and together they met up with his Dad, Percy and Mr Weasley.

If the duty Auror on the front desk was surprised to see two Department Heads plus a senior and junior Auror and Harry Potter moving through the atrium to the lifts he certainly didn't show it.

They passed by various guards who barely looked at them and it was clear to Harry that Minister Fudge had put the place on full alert for any possible Deatheater activity.

The journey down in the lift was mostly silent in keeping with the tense atmosphere of the building as a whole.

"Level Nine Department of Mysteries" announced a droning voice.

The lift doors clanged open. Harry, Percy, Mr Weasley, Sirius and Harry's Dad got out. They walked down the lone corridor until they reached the only door at it's end.

"Keep close to me because this Department is a bit of a maze James told his son. Harry nodded to show he understood. From all he had heard about the crazy layout he did not want to get lost in here.

They walked through various doors and even entered a room where there were many different doors. Luckily for the assembled company Sirius had a map with him and pointed the way for them as James took the lead.

All four of the adults had their wands out just in case Deatheaters should be in here. Harry couldn't imagine how they could be but then again he would have said the same about Voldemort being on the back of a teachers head or a diary making a teacher go mad or being present for the rebirth of Voldemort so, all things considered, he felt it only made sense to be ready for anything.

Eventually they reached a black door with an eye hole halfway up.

James strode up to the door and peered in. There was an Unspeakable standing there as always guarding the door from unauthorised access "we're here with Mr Harry James Potter to see his prophecy" he said formally.

He then stepped back so the man could get a good look at the others "you may enter but I need to use a verification spell on you" the Unspeakable said gruffly.

James nodded at this reasonable and regular security precaution.

The black door swung open and the five of them filed in one at a time and one at a time the Unspeakable did his checks and they were all soon cleared "follow me" he said as he strode ahead along the rows of shelves.

They went through an intersection and kept right on walking.

After about ten minutes the Unspeakable stopped and turned to face a shelf on his left.

Harry could see row after row of prophecies and was amazed that there could be so many of them.

The man looked along the row and found what he was looking for on the second shelf up "here is your prophecy" the man told Harry as he stepped back.

Harry tentatively stepped forward. His hand brushed over the orb which glowed slightly to show that it recognised him.

He then carefully picked it up and wrapped it in a towel which his Dad secured with strong magical binds to prevent it from falling out.

They were just about to leave when the gruff voiced man spoke "I'll be taking that now".

Harry was stunned.

He and the others turned around and stared at the bald headed man "why do you want it?" he asked feeling sure he knew the answer.

The man laughed coldly "it is not I who wants it. It is my Master". That confirmed it for Harry.

"You don't need to help him" Harry said thinking fast. The man chuckled "oh you're right. I don't NEED to help him. I WANT to help him".

Harry knew he had to distract the man for long enough for the adult wizards to get ready "here then, take it" he said. He handed the man the prophecy which the man held reverently.

"Expeliarmus" roared his father "Flippendo!" yelled Sirius "Petrificus Totalis!" shouted Percy "Incarcerous" said Mr Weasley calmly.

As the first spell hit causing the man to lose his wand and the prophecy orb his face registered surprise at being attacked. The second spell sent him crashing back against a shelf of prophecies causing many of them to fall and smash. The third spell incapacitated him while the forth bound him.

Once the man was unable to move Harry walked over and kicked him. He then turned around "how many bloody Deatheaters does he have?!".

"God knows" James said sourly "but it seems he has a lot".

The group left the Department of Mysteries and headed up to the office of the Minister.

They ignored his secretaries shrill voice as they opened the door and walked in.

To their surprise they found that Professor Dumbledore was sitting in one of the comfortable visitor chairs chatting amiably with Fudge while sipping a cup of tea.

"Hello Albus" James said calmly. To the Minister he said "Minister I am afraid you have a bit of a security problem".

Sirius threw the man down roughly on the floor as Minister Fudge stared at it in shock "good heavens!" Fudge exclaimed "who...who is that?" he pointed at the unconscious figure.

"That is one of the Unspeakables Minister" Mr Weasley said calmly "when he went to retrieve the prophecy he betrayed us and tried to take it from Harry "he has declared to be a support of Voldemort" the Minister flinched "and he is a Deatheater".

Minister Fudge paled at the lapse in security, moved over to the door and pulled it open. To his secretary in the next office he said "Laura I want a full security sweep of the Department of Mysteries. It appears we have...we have had a Deatheater working there".

"Bloody hell!" the woman exclaimed "oh...sorry Minister" she said in embarrassment "not to worry my dear" the Minister assured her "I feel as shocked as you".

"Sirius, you take this...thing" James said in disgust "down to the Ministry Holding Cells and make sure he has a twenty four seven guard by trusted Aurors".

Sirius said nothing. He nodded seriously, hauled the unconscious man to his feet and left the office.

Not long after, Harry, his Dad, Mr Weasley and Dumbledore all said goodbye to the Minister and Percy and then left the Ministry to return to Hogwarts by the floo network.

The four of them arrived safely in Dumbledore's Office and Harry placed the prophecy orb on the desk for a moment "well" said Mr Weasley "I'm glad that ended without too much..ahem...trouble".

Everyone else nodded "what do we do now Professor?" Harry asked.

"You and I Harry shall move the prophecy to a secure safe I have here in the office. We shall then move it shortly before the attack on the castle".

Harry nodded at this. He hugged his Dad, shook Mr Weasleys hand and then waved as they left to return to the Ministry.

"Follow me Harry" Dumbledore instructed.

Harry followed the old wizard as he walked up the steps past shelves, cabinets and portraits of former Headmasters.

Dumbledore pushed open a door on the right and walked through it. Harry followed on and found they were in a corridor in which there were several other doors.

They walked all the way to the end of the corridor. There was a shimmering light blooming around a door at the end and Harry assumed this to be their destination. His assumption was soon proved correct as the Headmaster took out his wand, waved it and muttered several incantations. The light vanished, there was a click and the door swung open.

They entered and Harry saw the room contained one large safe in it's centre. He had the feeling that it was larger than it looked. Dumbledore made more motions and said more incantations. The safe door clicked open and without being prompted Harry stepped forward placing the towel wrapped orb inside carefully.

Once this was done the safe clicked shut "well that is done" said Dumbledore in relief "we shall not have to gaze upon it again until June".

Harry couldn't help but feel glad about that as the prophecy had done nothing but cause trouble for him.


	50. Chapter 50

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter

Chapter Fifty: Gryffindor vs Slytherin, The Locket & Memory Collecting

The second week of November arrived cold and wet as usual for Autumn in the Scottish Highlands. It was now the day of the first Quidditch match of the season which would, as usual, be between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Harry woke up with a feeling of complete confidence that morning. He had been drilling his team very hard. He knew many of them were not happy about such rigorous training but as he had explained the training was needed in order to retain the Quidditch trophy that they had won in Harry's First, Second, Third and Fifth Year.

He had told them that he had no intention of breaking the streak of Quidditch victories with the Gryffindor's having been undefeated except for the one occasion in Third Year where Dementors had appeared causing Harry to fall from his broomstick.

Harry went through his morning exercises with the rest of the New Marauders feeling rather happy despite the bad weather.

At breakfast that morning Harry ate sensibly taking a few pieces of toast with jam. He saw that Draco and Seamus were supremely confident about the match while Ron, Colin, Jimmy and Ritchie all looked rather nervous.

Harry decided that Ron, Colin, Jimmy and Ritchie needed a bit of a confidence boost and hit upon a clever idea.

He took four goblets, took out his vial of Felix Felicis and took out the stopper.

All the time Hermione was watching him with raised eyebrows. Harry shoved the four goblets across the table to his team mates "drink up guys" he said with a grin "I think you'll them to be rather...tasty".

His team mates were very quick on the uptake and picked up the goblets "no don't!" Hermione shouted "he's put something in there!".

The four boys grinned at her "we know" said Ron happily.

They began to drink deeply draining the goblets in a few gulps "you could be expelled for that!" Hermione hissed to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Harry replied innocently.

"You put something in their goblets!" she hissed at him.

Harry waited until all of his team mates were chatting amongst themselves before he pulled out the vial. He held it up so that his best friend could get a good look at it. The vial was not missing any drops of potion. It had not been used at all.

"You...you didn't...you didn't use it" Hermione said sounding confused.

Harry nodded "I didn't" he said "but they all THINK I did and as a result will be much more confident going into today's match" he said with a smile.

Hermione laughed despite herself "and here I thought I was the clever one".

"Oh you are Mione" he replied "but I'm the more devious one".

Soon enough it was time for the Gryffindor team to head down to the Quidditch stadium.

They all said goodbye to the other Gryffindor's who wished them luck, they then slung their brooms over their shoulders and exited the hall, Harry as Captain taking the lead.

Ten minutes later they had reached the Quidditch stadium and entered the changing rooms.

"Right guys" Harry said "I'm not going to give you a long winded speech like previous Captains" he began causing Ron and Draco to laugh heartily as he had been told about Oliver Woods long speeches.

"All I want to say is that we are the best team here this year and I know you'll all do me proud against these slimy snakes as we pummel them".

Harry put his hand in. the others clearly realised what he was doing as they all placed their hands on top of his "one, two, three...GRYFFINDOR!" Harry bellowed and was followed by identical bellows of "GRYFFINDOR!".

The seven of them picked up their brooms and lined up in the tunnel ready to be introduced. Due to the graduation of Lee Jordan the previous June there was a new voice on commentary which Harry recognised to be the voice of Dennis Creevey, currently a Fourth Year "welcome witches and wizards to the first game of this years Quidditch season!" the crowd roared loudly in anticipation.

He then introduced the Slytherin team and Harry was surprised by the first name to come up "and first up for the Slytherins is the complete git..."

"Creevey!" Harry heard Professor McGonagall shout and grinned to himself. Some things may change but others will always stay the same.

"Sorry Professor...the new Slytherin Captain Theodore Nott".

Harry was surprise by this name being spoken as he wouldn't have exactly called Theodore Nott Captain material. Then again he wasn't about to complain about anything that would make things easier for him and his team.

Dennis began to speak again "and now it's time to meet this years Gryffindor Quidditch team!". Harry led the way out of the tunnel as the other players walked behind him two abreast.

"First up we have Harry Potter, now legendary Seeker, team member for the last five years and now Captain and what an excellent player that Potter is!" Dennis said.

"And just behind him are the two new Beaters Jimmy Peakes and Ritchie Cootes making their Gryffindor debuts in this match. They'll kick some Slytherin...".

"Creevey" McGonagall said warningly "sorry Professor" Dennis said not sounding sorry at all "behind them is Ron Weasley making his fifth appearance on the team after having been made Goalkeeper last year and what a saver of shots that boy is. And finally we have the three new Chasers" Dennis announced "Draco Black, Seamus Finnegan and...Colin Creevey!" Dennis said this last name ecstatically.

Harry stepped up to the centre circle to shake hands with the Slytherin Captain Nott. Harry noticed as he did so that Nott felt clammy and did not insult or sneer at Harry as he usually did.

This more than ever confirmed for Harry what he had suspected and which Dumbledore had previously told him. Nott was planning to kill Dumbledore on Voldemort's orders, there could be nothing else at Hogwarts to do that was so bad that Nott would feel the weight of it this much.

Madam Hooch gave the usual pre-match speech and the fourteen players and one referee zoomed up into the air as the quaffle, bludgers and snitch were all released.

Harry flew over to each of his team mates and gave words of encouragement to them before he zoomed off to find the snitch.

The match got underway as the whistle blew and Harry began his search.

As Harry zoomed about high above the game he could see Draco, Seamus and Colin zooming along passing the quaffle to each other in an attempt to score.

Nott's poor qualities as a Captain began to show at once as Gryffindor scored easily twice in a row to take a twenty nil lead.

Slytherin tried to get goals back in return but were not able to as Ron's supreme confidence had carried over to the match and was able to block every single shot bar none.

After fifteen minutes Gryffindor were ninety nil up. Harry saw the snitch and grinned or rather he grinned until he saw Nott sitting on his broom not moving.

Harry shrugged and zoomed off after the snitch which, after a steep dive, he caught rather easily. He held the snitch aloft and was hugged by several orange and red blurs as his team cheered, clapped and congratulated him on catching the small golden ball. Harry looked over at the scoreboard and noted that the final score for the game was two hundred and forty points to ten.

Harry knew he should have felt a lot happier than he did at the moment. They had won the match and were thus on the road to another Quidditch Cup. something though was nagging at him. He soon realised what it was. He felt sorry for...Theodore Nott!.

He shook his head as if unable to comprehend it. Why on earth did he feel sorry for his nemesis?. The answer came to him quickly. The reason he felt sorry for his nemesis was because Nott was not his true nemesis. Nott was merely a boy. A boy with a truly horrific task given by a psychotic murderer.

'My true nemesis is not Nott' he thought to himself 'my real enemy is Voldemort' he decided. It didn't matter how many Theodore Nott's, Mundungus Fletcher's and Cedric Diggory's got in his way they were merely servants not the Master.

* * *

When Harry woke up on Monday which was the 11th of November he felt rather nervous about that day. Oh he could handle the classes alright and the Prefect duties. That wasn't why he was feeling so worried.

The reason he was feeling so worried right now was because of the task that Professor Dumbledore had set him in the summer shortly after they managed to recruit Professor Slughorn as Potions Master.

So far Harry was well aware that he was failing in his task of getting close to Slughorn as he kept rejecting all invitations to the Slug Club a club formed by the Professor which enabled him to make contacts with various very talented or well connected witches and wizards.

Today he had decided that he would accept the latest invitation to the Slug Club which met every evening after dinner. He had no wish to do so but he needed to have time to speech to Professor Slughorn in order to get the very important memory which Slughorn held and seemed very reluctant to hand over.

The day seemed to pass by very quickly in a rush of classes before Harry finally reached the last class of the day which was Potions.

"I'll see you all in a bit" Harry told the other New Marauders who gave him quizzical looks "go on I'll be fine" he assured them and they reluctantly left.

He stood by his desk as the room emptied of all other students leaving only himself and Professor Slughorn who was, at the moment, pottering about tidying up.

Harry made the decision to help the rotund man "would you like some help tidying up Professor?" he asked kindly.

Slughorn turned round in surprise "oh Harry my boy" he said "I didn't expect anyone to still be in the classroom" the older wizard smiled causing his thick moustache to twitch "I'd love some help it's most kind of you to offer" he said.

harry smiled and walked over to him "it's nothing Professor" he said modestly "it's the way I was brought up".

The Professor regarded him for a moment "you are so much like your mother...Lily" he said quietly "I know I've said this before but she was such a kind, caring woman and her kindness rubbed off on you".

Harry felt his eyes mist up at the compliment and he could only croak "thank you Professor". The two of them worked in silence but once everything was cleared away Harry spoke "Professor, if the invitation to join the Slug Club is still open...I'd like to" he said nervously wondering if Slughorn would still want him in it.

The mans moustache twitched as he flashed a beaming smile at Harry "oh my boy that is most excellent news!" the large man exclaimed happily "I promise you will have a very fun time" he paused "I wonder if you would extend the invitation to Miss Granger, Miss Weasley and Mr Black. They are all very talented and I'd love the chance to speak with them more"

Harry grinned "they most definitely are Sir" he replied "I'll ask them at dinner". He then left the classroom breathing a sigh of relief that that was over.

Of course the hard part was just beginning as he still needed to procure the memory and as yet he had no idea how to do so at this particular moment.

When Harry brought the idea of attending the Slug Club up with Hermione, Draco and Ginny that night they were all for being there and having their talents recognised. Neville didn't seem to mind being left nor did Luna but Ron was very put out for awhile "oh I get it" he said snappishly "so you lot get to go to a fancy club and meet all sorts of interesting people and me, Nev and Luna are left on our own" he said jealously.

Harry rolled his eyes at this "no Ron that's not it at all" he said "I don't even want to attend the stupid club" he said fiercely "but I don't have a choice" he insisted "I need to get that memory about Horcruxes from Slughorn and I can't do that if I have no chance to be alone with him" Ron calmed down at these words but still didn't look too happy.

And so it was that the next night after dinner found Harry, Draco, Ginny and Hermione leaving their friends in the Entrance Hall and making their way to Slughorn's Office where the gathering was to be held.

"Who do you suppose will be there?" Ginny asked Harry as they walked hand in hand along the corridor.

Harry said "not sure but whoever it is they're bound to be either geniuses in a certain subject or really well connected".

They soon reached Slughorn's Office and Harry reluctantly knocked on the door to let the rotund Professor know they had arrived.

The door opened and Professor Slughorn beamed widely at them all "ah there you are" he said happily "wonderful to see you all" he shook their hands "come in! come in!" he motioned enthusiastically "we were just going to have tea".

Harry, Draco, Ginny and Hermione entered the room one by one and looked round. Harry noted that the room was lavishly decorated and assumed that most of the furnishings had been gifts.

He looked to the table to see what other guests had been invited. He saw Blaise Zabini sitting next to Daphne Greengrass. He nodded to them. They nodded back. He didn't know any of the other guests though he thought he recognised the name Belby from somewhere.

As he sat down he greeted the other guests who were already sat. To his surprise he actually ended up having a rather pleasant evening considering the exclusivity of the club. He supposed it helped that Nott had not been invited.

When the little gathering was over and everyone got up to leave the Professor surprised them by informing them all "I am holding a Christmas party this year here in my office for all current and past members of the Slug Club. I am sure you will all be there. Oh and by the way if you have a partner you would like to bring that would fine".

Draco, Hermione and Ginny reached the door and Ginny turned back to face Harry "Harry love, are you coming?".

Harry nodded towards Slughorn, mouthed "see you in a bit" and waited until she had left the room before facing Slughorn.

When Slughorn turned round from putting the various bottles of goblets back on the sideboard he jumped in surprise as he saw that Harry was still there "is there something you wanted Harry my boy?" he asked kindly.

Harry decided to take a similar approach to the one Riddle had taken hoping to give the Professor a hint and then convince him "Sir, the other day I was in the...restricted section".

Slughorn's eyes narrowed at these words "oh yes?" he replied casually.

"And when I was there I stumbled across an interesting piece of magic" Harry's mouth was dry. He licked his lips "it's called...as I understand it...a Horcrux".

Slughorn's eyes began to widen and in a moment he was scowling. Before Harry could say anymore the rotund Professor said "Albus put you up to this didn't he". When Harry was at a loss for words the Professor demanded more loudly "didn't he!".

"No...he...I...he had nothing..." Harry stuttered.

"Well I don't know anything about Horcruxes...never heard of them and I have nothing to do with...that sort of magic...leave now!".

Harry knew that further attempts would be hopeless at that very moment so he said "goodnight Professor" and then turned on his heel and left the room closing the office door behind him.

He was not surprised to see that Draco, Hermione and Ginny had waited for him outside the room and would thus have heard most words that were spoken especially those said in anger.

"No luck then I take it" Draco said with a slight hint of amusement. Harry glared at him for a moment as his hand slipped into Ginny's "no" he said wearily "he knows something about it all but I don't think he'll reveal it easily. It'll take a lot of luck..." his eyes widened and to the bemusement of everyone with him he slapped himself hard on the forehead "of course!" he muttered "you idiot!".

"Sorry" said Hermione "but...who's an idiot?".

Harry grinned at her and the others "me Mione. I'm an idiot".

"That's not true..." Ginny started to protest not wanting anyone even her own boyfriend to put him down.

"Don't you all see?" he said as he grinned madly at them.

Draco who'd obviously been reading his brothers mind grinned also "of course! Felix!" he said happily.

Harry nodded still grinning.

The two girls looked from one brother to the other and seemed to be coming to the conclusion that they were quite mad.

"Do you have any idea what these two are on about?" asked Ginny in amusement.

Hermione shook her head "not a clue" she replied "and no idea why someone called Felix would..." Hermione paused mid sentence "oh!" she exclaimed "oh...I get it now".

"Exactly" Harry said.

Ginny threw her arms up "I give up" she said in exasperation "will one of you tell me what is going on?".

Harry turned his attention back to his girlfriend and turned red in embarrassment "sorry Gin Gin" he said as he kissed her on the cheek "didn't mean to leave you out of the conversation".

Harry reached into his robes where he had been keeping the vial of Felix Felicis. He pulled it from it's robes but promptly dropped it. The vial hit the ground but didn't smash.

Harry looked at Hermione in gratitude as she had been the one to put a permanent Unbreakable Charm on it "that spell came in handy" he said approvingly "thanks Mione".

"No thanks needed" Hermione replied waving off the compliment though she blushed deeply.

Harry held the vial up to show Ginny "this is what I meant when I said Felix" he told her.

"Oh I get it now!" she said with a smile "that's the luck potion you won at the start of the year isn't it".

Harry nodded "yeah and if I use even just a few drops of the stuff all my endeavours will work out perfectly for a few hours" he said "if I use this when I next go to get the memory from Slughorn I'll find a way to get it".

* * *

Unfortunately for Harry he was kept very busy for the rest of November by the relentless round of classes, homework, Prefect duties, Defence Association meetings, Quidditch practise and honing his spell abilities as well as his Animagus transformations which he now had done perfectly.

As December arrived full of snow blizzards and gusty winds it was far too cold to be outside and Harry pitied all those taking Care of Magical Creatures classes in such weather.

The 1st of December was a Sunday and Harry spent much of the day relaxing as Saturdays were always a very busy time for him.

Lunch time rolled around and he went into the Great Hall as his stomach rumbled hungrily. He patted it "in a minute" he told it in amusement.

He found the rest of the New Marauders were already seated and tucking into their lunch "hey guys" he said as he sat down kissing Ginny.

Draco, Ron, Hermione and Luna all replied while Neville said nothing. To be truthful the once pudgy now lean Sixth Year had not spoken much at all since that fateful November evening when everything came crashing down for him.

Harry remembered how hard the funeral had been for everyone for Frank and Alice Longbottom had always been great friends and very kind people who had not deserved such a fate.

Harry had just ate a ham sandwich and picked up another when Seamus Finnegan called out to him "hey Harry!" he said.

Harry turned to him as he walked up "I thought you and the others would want to know that Hagrids back" he told him with a grin.

Harry grinned and looked at the others including his sister. All of them were grinning happily and every one including Harry had the same idea. Visit Hagrid.

The eight of them got up from the table. Harry thanked Seamus and gave him a pat on the shoulder in appreciation for delivering the news, he then exited the hall alongside the other six New Marauders and Molly.

The eight of them hurried down through the snowy grounds towards Hagrids cabin, their trainers making loud crunching noises on the ground.

In almost no time at all they reached the cabin. There were icicles hanging down from the room and snow was piled up as high as the front step.

Harry walked up to the front door and knocked loudly to gain their large friends attention.

For a moment the only sound from inside was the loud barking of Fang the large boarhound which Hagrid owned. Then there was the sound of shuffling feet and the loud "thunk" of something being put down.

A latch was pulled back and the door opened to reveal the Hogwarts Gamekeeper. He grinned when he saw who had come down "Harry, Draco, Molly, Ron, Neville, Ginny, Luna, Hermione!" he said greeting each one in turn "I hoped yeh'ed be down today" he beamed at them.

Harry noticed that he had a very nasty bruise around his eye that had turned purple as well as having a cut lip and a limp.

He surmised that whatever the mission Hagrid had been on it had not gone well for him.

"Come in n sit down" Hagrid said to them as he limped on over to his kitchen area and began to make tea.

Harry let the others enter before entering the cabin himself and closing the door.

He and the others took seats at the large table and exchanged concerned looks "what do you think?" happened?" Neville whispered.

Harry was pleased that Neville had spoken. Despite the tragedy he had not lost his caring nature even if he did want to rip the Deatheaters responsible to pieces.

Five minutes later Hagrid limped over to the table carrying a tray containing various tea things. He set it down and sat carefully down in his seat holding onto his right leg "help yourselves ta tea" he said as he poured in a dash of milk and followed that up with a very large amount of sugar. Eight spoonfuls of the stuff went into the tea which Harry was sure would taste more like sugar than tea as a result.

No one said anything as they finished stirring their tea but once everyone had put in enough sugar and taken a biscuit each Harry couldn't hold back his concern any longer "what the hell happened Hagrid?!" he burst out.

Hagrid looked from him to the others and back to him again. He sighed heavily. He sounded very weary "well I don't suppose it would do any harm ta tell ya now" he said.

"Ye would've been told I suppose that I went on a secret mission fer Professor Dumbledore" they all nodded, this much was common knowledge to them all.

Hagrid took a long sip of very sweet tea and set it back down on it's saucer "well what ye probly weren't told is that I went to see the giants".

"The giants!" Ron exclaimed in horror.

'That explains the bruises and the cuts' Harry thought.

"Yeah" said Hagrid "what with Vol...Vol...Voldemort" Harry stared feeling impressed at their large friend who was always nervous about saying the V word "well...what with...HIM bein back, Dumbledore asked me to go'n speak ta the giants and persuade m to join our side in the war...or at least not get involved" the large man told them "well.." he said gesturing to himself "as ye c'n see it didn' go too well to say the least".

"Did the giants do that to you?" Draco asked while Ginny, Luna and Hermione went and hugged him. Hagrid shook his head "no" he said "there were ruddy Deatheaters there weren't there. They were tryin' ta persuade the giants too. They attacked me. I beat them all but got a bit hurt in the process".

"Do you think any of them listened?" Molly asked softly.

Hagrid hesitated for a moment obviously considering his answer "well...I gave them Dumbledore's message. Some of them remembered him n his kindness an agreed ta fight for us but most of em..." Hagrid shrugged "I guess only time will tell".

* * *

On the night of the 7th of December Harry was alone in the common room with Draco, Ron, Neville, Hermione, Ginny and Luna.

He stroked Ginny's hair unconsciously as he thought about his task.

He had been mulling over his problem in getting the memory quite a lot for the last two weeks and tonight he had come to the conclusion that he needed to use the Felix Felicis and get the memory tonight. For the side of the light there was no time for hesitation and delay.

For the past few weeks the news had got worse and worse as more and more witches and wizards were killed or kidnapped. Many had simply disappeared no doubt being tortured by Deatheaters or being ripped to pieces by a Werewolf as some were not as civilised as Moony was.

Quite a number had been found merely sitting on the ground not moving or giving any sign that they were alive other than the rise and fall of their chests. These unfortunates had been kissed by Dementors and had lost their souls...possibly forever.

Despite the best efforts of the Ministry there were only so many Ministry personnel and you could never truly know who to trust these days especially after that wizard in the Department of Mysteries trying to take Harry's prophecy for Voldemort.

Harry took the vial of Felix out of his jeans pocket and stared at the swirling liquid inside "here goes nothing" he commented.

As the rest of the New Marauders looked on he took out the stopper, tipped the vial toward lips letting several drops drip onto his tongue.

He swallowed grimacing at the horrible taste.

He looked round at the others who stared back intently "how do you feel?" Luna asked him inquisitively.

Harry grinned "I feel great".

He stood up and moved over to the portrait hole "you're not going to see Slughorn this time of night!" Hermione exclaimed as she ran towards him.

He turned to her "no" he told her and the others "I'm down to see Hagrid" he said as he picked up his thick winter coat slipped it on and zipped it up.

They all gaped at him in confusion "what?" Draco asked "why would you need to see Hagrid?".

"Drakes right Harry" Ron said as he stood up "if you are going out now you should go and find Slughorn".

"Look, I can't explain it" said Harry the smile still on his face "but I've got a really good feeling about Hagrids...I feel like it's the place to be tonight...do you know what I mean?".

The others all shook their heads in bemusement "I'll see you later" he called to them as the portrait swung open and he started to climb through the hole "hang on!" shouted Neville in alarm "aren't you forgetting something rather important?" he asked.

"Don't think so" said Harry.

"You haven't got your invisibility cloak!" Ginny shouted in exasperation.

"Won't be needing it. Trust me" Harry replied as he exited the portrait hole leaving the other New Marauders feeling confused and irritated.

"If that idiot loses us points I will not be happy" Hermione said furiously.

* * *

From the moment Harry reached the First Floor and the marble staircase heading to the Entrance Hall everything was on his side.

He spotted Filch and Mrs Norris not far away and dimly felt he should run only for a voice inside his head to tell him "don't worry. They won't spot you" so he kept on walking. Sure enough, just as Filch rounded the corner and would have clapped eyes on him there was a loud crashing noise from a nearby classroom "Peeves!" roared Filch as he darted round the corner the way he had come with his bony cat following behind.

Harry carried on along the corridor and down the stairs to the front doors. Both doors would normally have been locked by Filch at this time of night but the Felix was working as both doors were wide open ensuring all he needed to do was walk through them.

He strolled confidently through the Entrance Hall and through the doorway into the cold night air.

His trainers crunched on the fresh deep snow while more snow floated down.

As he strolled happily through the grounds the idea came into his mind to walk down to Hagrids by way of the path that led from the greenhouses and down the sloping lawns.

As he entered the greenhouse corridor he smiled in surprise as he recognised the large bulk of Professor Slughorn. The mans head was peering through a window in greenhouse three and Harry thought in amusement of what the Professor was after.

"Good evening Professor" he said in a voice full of mirth as he drew near.

The man jumped and stepped back away from the window "Harry, what are you doing out here at this time of night?!" the Professor asked in surprise.

"I'm just going down to see Hagrid Professor" he told the man "he's a very dear friend and I'd like to have a chat with him" he walked past the rotund wizard and walked down the corridor towards the steep path.

"Wait a moment!" Slughorn called out "Harry stop!". Harry halted and waited for the large man to catch up.

When Slughorn reached him he was breathing hard "Harry" he said sounding very out of breath "I cannot allow you to wander about on your own outside at this time of night" the older wizard said trying to sound forceful.

Harry grinned "feel free to come with me Professor. I'm sure Hagrid would say the company the merrier" he whistled as he exited the corridor.

Hearing footsteps behind him he knew that Slughorn was following him. He kept on walking heading along the track and then down the steep path to Hagrids cabin.

"Harry I insist you come back with me to the castle at once!" the large Professor called out from some way behind him.

"Sorry Professor!" Harry called back "I can't do that!".

Halfway down the path Harry spotted a rather unusual sight over to his left. Hagrid was standing next to the largest Acromantula Harry had ever seen in his life "Aragog" he said as a guess for he could think of no other Acromantula's whom Hagrid was close to.

He walked on over to his large friend who, he could see, was sobbing loudly at the loss of someone he'd always considered to be a friend.

Harry reached him and said "hi Hagrid".

The large man turned to the sound of the voice and Harry saw that his eyes were red from crying "Aragog's dead!" Hagrid said, his voice cracking with emotion.

Harry put on a sympathetic face "I'm sorry Hagrid" he said as he patted the half-giants arm "I know he was a great friend to you".

"I raised him from an egg you know" the large man said to him. Harry nodded "I know Hagrid" he replied.

Professor Slughorn joined them "good heavens, that's an actual Acromantula!" the rotund man exclaimed in amazement.

"Yeah. I hatched him out you know" Hagrid said.

Slughorn nodded solemnly "a very sad day indeed" he said as he patted Hagrids arm in commiseration. The Potions Master then looked rather embarrassed "I know it's asking a lot but...well...Acromantula venom is incredibly rare and would be of great use in some more difficult to brew potions...would you...would mind if I...took some?" he asked hesitantly.

Harry watched as Hagrids eyes locked onto his fellow Professor before focusing on Aragog again "I don' suppose he needs it now" he said hollowly "go ahead professor".

The round Professor fished an empty vial from a pocket of his colourful robes and proceeded to extract some venom which he stoppered and placed back inside his robes "thank you dear Hagrid".

Hagrid said "deeply misunderstood creatures you know...Acromantula's" he sighed "the eyes I reckon...they unnerve some folk".

Harry couldn't resist "not to mention the pincers" he said making a clicking noise. Hagrid nodded "yeah. Them too".

"Would you like me to say a few words before we bury him?" Slughorn asked kindly.

Hagrid nodded and said gratefully "thank you, that'd be lovely" he blew his nose loudly on a handkerchief.

Slughorn clasped his hands in front of him like a Vicar and then began to speak "farewell..." he turned to Hagrid who supplied the name "Aragog".

"Farewell Aragog King of the Acromantula's. The body will decay but the spirit lingers on..." once the speech was over Harry and Slughorn helped Hagrid push the massive Acromantula into his grave which was then covered over and a gravestone put over it reading "here lies Aragog King of the Acromantula's".

"Why don't we go back to your place and toast to Aragog's memory?" Professor Slughorn suggested. Hagrid thought this a lovely idea and so the three of them walked across the cold and snow covered grounds to his cabin.

What followed was a rather raucous drinking and singing session. Harry threw his drink away but sang and talked with the two Professors as they shared stories.

After a long while Hagrid passed out with his head on the table and began to snore very noisily.

Harry locked eyes with the Potions Professor. Slughorn sighed "I know what you want from me Harry" he said wearily "but I just CAN'T. It would ruin me if people found out".

Harry had a lot of sympathy for the Professor but he needed the memory "several times before you've told me that I am much like my mother" he said strongly "you've told me how proud you were of her and how she was one of your favourite students. Don't give me the memory for me or for Dumbledore or anyone else...do it for HER" he said forcefully "you dishonour her memory by refusing to give over your memory as she fought and died standing up against evil and for her belief that everyone is equal in life".

These words seemed to have a profound effect on the rotund Professor who leaned back in his chair for many minutes seemingly lost in thought before he said "I will give you the memory" he pulled out his wand, raised it to his temple and extracted a strand of white filmy material "get me a vial quickly" he instructed. Harry did so and the Professor poked the wand down inside placing the memory carefully within.

As Slughorn stoppered the vial and handed it over to Harry he pleaded "please don't think too badly of me Harry, I had no idea" he said sadly.

As Harry lay in bed much later that night he breathed a sigh of relief. The first part was over. Now they merely needed to examine the memory.


	51. Chapter 51

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters & the story belong to JK Rowling. I make no money from this story.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello to all my wonderful readers. Hope you are well and enjoy this next chapter of the story.

A special shout out to my latest reviewers fundoogal and fhl1234 for their kind reviews and constructive words.

* * *

Chapter Fifty One: Buying Rings and Horcrux Destruction

At last the Autumn term ended and on Saturday the 21st of December all of the students not staying at Hogwarts headed down to Hogsmeade Station.

The atmosphere in which they walked down was a lot more subdued than in previous years as several students had had family members killed or kidnapped or souls taken by Dementors.

Neville was thankfully doing a lot better than most of the previous month but he still seemed to burn with a quiet intensity. A determination to punish those responsible. To get revenge.

Harry knew exactly how he felt. He had been just over a year old when Voldemort had attacked his families Godric's Hollow home, nearly killed himself and his Dad and had murdered his mother in cold blood all because of a prophecy.

Harry's mind turned to two things he had been thinking a lot about for the past few days. The first issue was that Dumbledore had taken him aside during a quiet moment at lunch the previous day asking him to pass onto the others that he wanted to see them in his office at Hogwarts sometime during the Christmas break in connection with Horcruxes.

Harry was sure that it would involve destroying a Horcrux and so had at once told Dumbledore he could make it provided his parents agreed.

He told the old wizard that he'd inform the others and let him know by owl post.

As Harry and the others hauled their trunks onto one of the carriages and began looking for their usual compartment his mind turned to the other issue that had consumed his thoughts for...well...since the death of Neville's parents.

It was the death of his best friends parents that had brought Harry to the stark realisation of just how fleeting life really was. Blink and you miss it, life over.

He, at the moment, had a rather mad idea (or at least he thought it was mad) that kept spinning about in his brain.

Ginny and he had been dating since the end of Harry's Second Year at Hogwarts and their love had only grown stronger throughout that time as a result of everything they'd been through together.

As Harry took his seat by the window and stared out at the overcast sky he knew there was only one person he could discuss his thoughts and feelings with. Only one person who would get it and not freak out...his Dad.

That night the Hogwarts Express pulled into Kings Cross Station at platform 9 and 3/4's and Harry grinned as he saw who was waiting for them on the platform scanning the crowds eagerly. It was his Dad.

Once Harry had helped his friends, girlfriend and siblings haul their heavy trunks and cages off of the train and fetched his own he was approached by his Dad who had brought over several trolleys on which to place the trunks "hey Harry" he said with a massive smile.

Harry grabbed him in a fierce hug which his Dad returned back just as fiercely "are you alright son?" his Dad asked sounding a bit concerned as they broke apart.

Harry smiled "I'm fine Dad it's just really great to see you after four months of being away from home".

As James wheeled his son's trolley along the platform Harry asked "how is everyone else at the Manor?".

James grinned "looking forward to Christmas obviously. Moony is a bit annoyed with Padfoot and Wormtail for playing a prank on him this morning at breakfast".

"What happened?" Harry asked him in amusement.

"Moony opened a jar of coffee to make himself a cup and it exploded in his face" James told his son as they both began to laugh "turns out Padfoot and Wormtail had replaced the coffee with Peruvian instant darkness powder".

"They promised I could help with that prank" Harry said with mock annoyance as they reached the barrier.

As they exited the entrance and walked along the regular platform of Kings Cross Harry said "listen Dad, before Draco and the others catch up I just wanted to know if I can ask you something later".

They stopped near the doors leading out into the car park "why not ask now?" James queried.

Harry blushed "it's...it's not something I want to get out just yet" he said feeling awkward "it's...it's about Ginny".

"It's nothing bad is it?" James said in alarm.

Harry chuckled "no Dad it's not bad...it's quite the opposite actually".

Harry and his Dad resumed their walk to the cars provided by the Ministry "have you spoken to Neville's gran yet?" Harry asked his Dad in a more subdued manner.

His Dad nodded sadly "yes I did. Poor Augusta was devastated as you'd imagine. From what I gather she plans to have just her and Neville spend Christmas on their own this year".

"Come on Dad you know better than anyone that keeping your own company is not a healthy way of grieving".

James nodded "yes I do but what do you expect me to do about it? I can't just order Augusta and Neville to stay at the Manor over Christmas".

"Ok I get that" said Harry "but I want to be in constant contact with Neville. He needs his friends round him and he needs Molly with him too. Please convince Augusta to let us visit Neville".

James stared at his son for a long time before he said "alright. I'll see what I can do. I want Neville to be happy as much as anyone, he's a good lad".

The car journey back to Devon was rather quiet as Harry, Draco, Molly and Neville were all lost in their own thoughts on one subject or another and James respected the reason for their silence by not speaking either and just keeping an eye on his driving.

Not surprisingly there was a large reception committee when they pulled up to the front steps of the Manor.

Sirius, Janice, David, Remus, Peter and Celia holding one of the twins each were all waiting for them as were the three Marauder Clan House Elves Tipper, Molter and Dobby.

Hugs and kisses were exchanged, hair was ruffled and words of greeting spoken. The House Elves then disappeared with the luggage as everyone headed inside for some refreshments which were much needed by Harry and the others after such a long car journey.

As Harry walked in he found his younger brother David was by his side and was asking a lot of questions about his time at Hogwarts "hang on Davy!" he said in amused exasperation "I told you everything that happened to me in my letters".

His brother rolled his eyes in a very Draco like fashion "yeah but it's always better hearing it in person!" he said as if this should be obvious.

Harry chuckled and ruffled his brothers hair "alright I'll fill you in on everything, just give me a chance to get settled in first okay?".

His brother nodded and bounced off happily. As Harry watched him go he smiled sadly. He'd give anything to be like David at that moment. Oh David had concerns sure but he didn't have the prophecy hanging above him like the sword of Damocles and he certainly didn't have the issue that Harry was dealing with right now. Harry however was glad his brother didn't have these problems as he took his vow to keep David safe to be a very serious thing.

Late that night after David had gone up to bed and the rest of the Marauder Clan plus Neville had also called it a night Harry was sitting alone on a sofa in the drawing-room staring into the blazing fire in the hearth.

He heard footsteps nearby and was soon joined by his Dad.

James Potter yawned loudly. Harry could see he was really tired and said "you know we can have this conversation tomorrow Dad, if you really need sleep".

His Dad grinned tiredly "no. A promise is a promise Harry. You said you wanted to speak to me and I promised to listen so fire away" James said as he poured himself out a glass of firewhiskey his favourite drink.

Harry took a deep breath "as I told you earlier it's...it's about Ginny" James nodded.

"Well" Harry continued "you know we've been dating now since the end of my Second Year at Hogwarts" another nod "it's just that...I know I love her and...and that she loves me...and I...you'll say it's...I...".

"What is it Harry?" his Dad asked sounding worried.

Harry swallowed and then said in a rush "IwanttomarryGinny!".

His Dad frowned at the unintelligible sentence and asked "what was that you said Harry?".

Harry sighed "I want to marry Ginny". He was not at all surprise at the reaction this provoked as his Dad's jaw fell open so wide it was figuratively on the floor "you...you...want...want...to marry...Ginny?" James said haltingly. Harry could tell his Dad was struggling to process it.

James ran a hand through his messy black hair "aren't you...you know...a tad young for that?".

Harry shook his head "I don't want to marry her right away" he assured his Dad "I just wanted to discuss what I'm feeling that's all".

"I see" said James settling down as he internally breathed a sigh of relief. He then said "you like her that much?".

Harry smiled "I don't just like her Dad" he said with much feeling "I love her with all my heart...with all my soul. I don't want anyone else and I never will".

This evidently surprised James as he gave his son a searching look. Obviously he realised that his son was being completely genuine for his face broke into a broad smile "Potters and redheads" he muttered in amusement before breaking into laughter.

Harry who knew to what his Dad referred also laughed.

"So" said James as he poured a glass of firewhiskey which he handed to Harry "have you asked her yet?".

Harry, who was in the act of taking a sip of his drink, began to cough and splutter as some of it went done the wrong way.

His Dad thumped him on the back. When Harry was able to speak again he said "are you mad?!...I can't ask her!...not yet!".

"Why not?" James said genuinely wondering why his son had not said anything to Ginny.

"Because I don't know if she would even want to marry me...not so soon anyway. I mean...she still has another two years to go before she leaves" Harry unconsciously ran a hand through his messy hair "what if she says no...what if I ask her and she finds someone else after I leave?...what do I do?!" he moaned miserably as he put his head in his hands.

"Are you certain that this is what you want and not a spur of the moment decision?" James asked his son seriously. He didn't want Harry rushing in unless he definitely wanted it.

"I've been thinking about it since last year when Voldemort returned" his son replied "I have no doubt that I want her to be my wife one day. I've never been more certain of anything".

James removed his glasses and rubbed a hand over his tired eyes "Harry?" his son didn't look up so James said louder "Harry look at me, please".

Harry raised his tear stained eyes to meet his fathers hazel one's "I'll tell you exactly what you do. You're nearly a man in the Wizarding World. On Monday I was planning to go to Diagon Alley and buy the Christmas present for your mother" he told his son "you will come with me. We'll get some money from your Gringott's vault so you can buy Ginny a Christmas present and a ring with which to propose".

"But..." his father silenced him with a "trust me" look.

"You don't have to propose to her right away but when you feel the time is right you get down on one knee and ask her" James finished.

"But what about Mr and Mrs Weasley?" Harry asked feeling anxious "even if the wedding is over two years away they will still think it's too soon".

"Harry lots of couples marry young and anyway two years is a lot of time to get used to something" James said.

Harry sat deep in thought for a while and then he nodded. His mind was made up. The decision taken. He would go to the jewellers shop in Diagon Alley, get a ring and sometime in the next few weeks or months he would propose.

* * *

Monday morning the 23rd of December rolled round and Harry was already loving being back at the Manor. He'd split his Sunday between helping with chores, spending time with David, Molly and Draco and working on his homework.

All of the adults at the Manor noted the change that had come over him.

The truth of course was that Harry had begun to grow up following Voldemort's return and had resolved himself to play no pranks this year...or at least not any big one's.

His major focus from now one was to work hard with his school work, to help his family and to prepare for his next confrontation with Voldemort which could be at any moment.

Harry got up early that day and went round the grounds with Draco on their usual jog. As they did a lap round the Quidditch pitch his brother spoke "I know you and Uncle James had a late night chat yesterday".

Harry stopped and stared at his brother "look...don't say anything to my Mum just yet" he pleaded.

He need not have bothered as his brother grinned "I won't" he promised "I wasn't going to anyway" the two of them headed inside the summerhouse and sat down on a sofa "besides the fact it's your love life and thus nothing to do with me...I'm also planning to propose to Luna".

Harry gaped in surprise at this revelation. Not because he didn't know how much in love Draco and Luna were but merely because He was the impulsive one not his brother.

Draco had always been the more cautious, studious type. His brother analysed a situation for all possibilities before rushing in. He'd never have expected Draco to have made up his mind so quickly on such an important life choice and more over to choose to ask Luna so soon.

"You'll catch flies if you keep your mouth hanging open like that" Draco quipped in amusement.

Harry shook off his stunned expression and said "well this...I did not expect. I'm the impulsive one, you're meant to be more steady".

Draco grinned and shrugged "a man's got to be impulsive sometimes or life gets boring" he replied.

They both burst out laughing at that "so have you told Padfoot and Aunt Janice yet?" Harry asked curiously.

"I spoke to Dad about it last night in my bedroom" he told Harry "he was all for it. Said as long as I really wanted it then I should ask Luna and see what she says".

Harry grinned at that realising just how alike their Dad's were "my Dad said exactly the same last night. He even said he'd take me to Diagon Alley with him today and we'd pick out a ring for Ginny".

Draco's eyes widened and he began to laugh heartily "you too?" he said as wiped his tears of mirth out of his eyes "Dad said we'd go in today too, said he could get the time off".

"He hasn't said anything to either of our Mum's has he?" Harry asked nervously.

Draco shook his head "I made him promise not to say anything until I was ready".

"Damn" Harry said feeling annoyed with himself "I should have done the same thing with my Dad. He tells Mum everything".

"I'm sure he won't tell her yet" Draco said though he didn't sound very sure.

They got up and recommenced their jogging.

Half an hour later they were both feeling hungry and so they headed back up to the house to make themselves some breakfast.

As they pushed the back door open and walked in there were two voices that called or rather shouted loudly in stereo "Harry James Potter!" yelled the one with the flaming red hair "Draco Black!" yelled the other who was today sporting blonde hair.

Both boys exchanged nervous glances and gulped.

Their mothers were standing before them, hands on hips and glaring. Harry and Draco cringed beneath the stares and neither seemed to know what to say. Obviously Harry's Dad had told his Mum and Sirius had either broken his promise to Draco or had the secret dragged from him.

'Mums!' Harry thought in exasperation 'why do they always have to make a big drama out of everything?!'.

"Err...is there...a problem?" Harry stuttered nervously.

"I'd say so young man!" his mother said "your father has told me about your little chat last night".

harry grimaced "look" he said "I know you think I'm too young Mum but I know my own mind and my heart. I want nothing more than to marry Ginny. You don't have to worry" he went on "we won't get married until..." he paused as he saw that his Mother and Aunt were grinning widely and seemed to be trying not to laugh.

"What?...I...you...it was a joke!" he exclaimed.

His Mother and Aunt crossed the room with Lucy and Janice hugging Harry and Draco respectively "of course it was you silly boy" his Mother assured him "we think it's wonderful that you know what you want already and we want to help".

"That's right" said Janice with a big smile "who better to know what ring to get for a woman than another woman".

Harry and Draco exchanged grins and smiled at their Mothers "thanks Mum, Aunt Lucy" said Draco summing up their feelings of gratitude

Once breakfast was over that morning, Harry, Draco, Sirius, Janice, James and Lucy all filed into the drawing-room to floo into the Leaky Cauldron pub from where they would enter Diagon Alley.

They went two at a time with Harry and Draco stumbling out of the fireplace as usual. It wasn't Harry's favourite way to travel but it was the most hassle free and most safe due to Ministry monitoring the network.

When Harry and Draco hit the cold stone floor of a fireplace Harry poked his head out to look round "we're here" he said and he and his brother stepped out and to the side to wait for their parents.

They were just dusting themselves down when Sirius and James arrived with Sirius clattering into a pile of chairs.

Harry and Draco watched on in bemusement as the curly haired wizard stood up and glared at Harry's Dad "what happened?" Draco asked in amusement.

"Your git of an Uncle pushed me just before we arrived" Sirius muttered irritably as James howled with laughter.

Janice and Lucy arrived, dusted themselves off and both promptly also laughed when informed of what had happened to Sirius "oh that's right, lets all laugh at Padfoot" Sirius said in mock irritation though everyone could see he was itching to laugh too as the corners of his mouth kept turning up.

The six of them walked through the near empty pub said hello to Old Tom who owned the place and then exited the pub into the backyard where the entrance to Diagon Alley lay.

James took out his wand, tapped the third brick from the left and stepped back and the bricks in the wall shifted position to form an archway large enough for two large people to walk side by side.

Harry and James walked next to each other in the lead followed by Draco and Sirius with Lucy and Janice taking up the rear.

All six of the wizards had their wands out and at the ready due to the Ministers latest change in the law that made it legal for wizards under seventeen to use defensive spells when attacked.

They made a quick stop at Gringott's bank to fetch a few bags of coins for Christmas purchases and the purchase of the rings before heading off down the main street. They searched for Greengrass and Zabini Jewellers PLC which was the biggest jewellers in the Wizarding World and had branches in Britain, the United States of America, France, Germany and many other countries.

They reached an intersection and Lucy said "this is the street" as they head down Merlin street.

Halfway down they reached a shop front painted all in black with resplendent gold lettering on a bright sign which read "Greengrass and Zabini Jewellers".

James opened the door causing the shop bell to ring as they all walked in.

There was only one other customer in the shop who they recognised when he spoke to the man behind the counter "thank you very much my good man. How much did you say?".

"One galleon Mr Weasley and thank you for the custom" the man said with a warm smile.

Arthur Weasley took out money bag and counted out the correct amount in the form of sickles that equalled one galleon.

He was just over and the man turned away to the till to get his change. Once the purchase was complete Arthur thanked the man again and turned around coming face to face with the Marauder Clan "oh hello James, Sirius, Harry, Draco, Lucy, Janice" he said brightly as he shook their hands warmly.

"What are you doing here Arthur?" Janice asked with a smile.

"Oh I'm just collecting a Christmas present for Molly" he said happily. He then looked from one face to the other and asked "what are you six doing here?".

"We're collecting a few special somethings" Sirius said tapping his nose mysteriously.

Arthur chuckled and muttered "Marauders and their secrets" he then bad them good day. He was nearly at the door when he seemed to remember something and turned around "oh by the way, Molly asked me to let you know to call at three pm on Christmas Day if that's convenient".

"We look forward to eating more of Molly's wonderful cooking" Lucy said beaming.

Arthur smiled widely at them all "well we'll see you all on Christmas Day then if not sooner" he then exited the shop.

"Come on then you two" Janice said with a grin as her and Lucy pushed Harry and Draco up to the counter. Both of them were rather nervous about this as they had never purchased something so important as this before.

"Good evening Mrs Potter, Mrs Black" the man at the counter smiled kindly "good evening" Lucy replied smiling just as warmly.

"What can I do for two of our best customers on this fine day?".

"As a matter of fact it's more what you can do for our son's" Janice said as she pointed out Harry and Draco standing next to them who were both taller than them by this point.

"I see" said the man as he surveyed Harry and Draco "a pleasure to meet you both. My name is Gerald Carter" he said as he extended a hand.

As Harry shook the man's hand he got the sense that this was a man they could trust who was discreet and helpful. It was a relief to know this would be the case as the last thing he needed was the Daily Prophet getting a hold of the story that he was about to ask someone to marry him.

Harry replied as did Draco "a pleasure to meet you two".

He glanced at Draco who nodded. Harry sighed knowing that he would have to be spokesmen for the pair of them even here. He cleared his throat "I hope we can trust you to keep this quiet" Harry said.

The man nodded and smiled "have no fear Mr Potter" he said "it is our motto here at Greengrass and Zabini Jewellers. We are discreet and helpful at all times" he told them proudly.

Harry smiled "I thank you for that. The fact is that both myself and my brother..." he indicated Draco who nodded "are in relationships. we have been for several years now and both feel it is the right time to propose marriage as we want nothing more than to be with them for the rest of our lives".

To Harry's great surprise the man's eyes teared up at the last few words "I understand just how you both feel" he said "I was the same with my late wife. I married her at eighteen, just a year after leaving Hogwarts..." the man's voice had a catch as he said "she was killed by...by Deatheaters during the last war".

"I'm so sorry to hear that" Draco said kindly as Harry added his own commiseration. The man thanked them for their kinds words and then said "and now I believe it is time to choose a ring" he called to someone at the back of the shop "Albert come out here please".

A young man with short black hair and a thick beard appeared through the curtain and smiled at them all "hello" he said politely.

"This is my son Albert" the man explained "he helps out keeping the jewellery polished and stocks the cabinets".

They all nodded and politely said hello "now what would you young gentlemen be requiring?".

Harry and Draco both exchanged panicked looks. Neither had ever bought a ring before and although they each knew what sort of jewellery their girlfriends appreciated they weren't sure if the same would apply to a ring.

Thankfully their blushes were spared as their Mothers stepped in to help as they'd promised to do so "Mr Carter our son's bless them have never purchased a ring before" Lucy explained.

"They know their girlfriends tastes though so perhaps we could start from there" Janice added.

Mr Carter nodded "that sounds like a most sensible suggestion" he replied and, smiling, he turned to Harry and Draco "well gentlemen?".

Harry scratched his head as he thought "well my girlfriend Ginny..." the man cut in in amazement "not Ginny Weasley!" the man exclaimed in surprise.

Harry nodded "yes as a matter of fact she is".

The man beamed "a more kind and caring family you couldn't wish to marry into Mr Potter" Mr Carter said warmly. He then added "apologies for my interrupting. You were saying about her jewellery tastes".

"Oh. Yes" said Harry "well she's always been rather understated. She prefers things that look nice but aren't too showy".

"Just like you eh Prongslet" Sirius said using the Marauders nickname for Harry. Harry turned to grin at him "you know me too well Padfoot" he replied.

He turned back to the man just as Draco said "Luna...my girlfriend likes any jewellery that looks pretty so as long as it is pretty she'll like it...I hope" he added at the end of the sentence.

"Very well gentlemen" he gestured to several seats "would the six of you care to sit down and wait while we sort through several rings that may be to their tastes?".

As the six of them took up seats Mr Carter turned to his son who had, rather unusually, Muggle pen and paper in hand and had apparently been taking notes.

The two of them went through the curtain and were gone for a short while during which time Harry wondered if he was not in over his head. After all, even if he did choose a ring what was the guarantee Ginny would like it...or that she would say yes to marriage?.

After ten or so minutes of waiting Mr Carter and his son returned through the curtain both carrying several pristine black leather cases which they placed down carefully on the counter "apologies for the wait" he said to the six Marauders who stood up and walked over to the counter crowding round.

Mr Carter and his son used their wands. The case lids sprang open and up to reveal several rows of highly polished rings in each.

As Harry stared at all of the rings on display his stomach knotted tightly and he felt more glad than ever that his Mother was helping him choose the ring as she had much the same jewellery tastes as Ginny.

"Mum this is your department" he said as he stared at all of the options.

His Mother ruffled his hair "lets choose then" she said with a smile and she began to gaze more closely at each of the rings picking them up carefully and examining them.

Harry glanced over at Draco, Janice and Sirius to find that Janice had already selected one for Luna "how about this one?" Janice said as she held it out to her son.

Draco took a closer look at the ring that, Harry had to admit, was very pretty and was definitely something Luna would like if he was any judge about what his friend enjoyed jewellery wise.

"Harry?" called a voice from next to him. It was his Dad "sorry Dad, sorry Mum" he apologised in embarrassment "if I'm any judge about Ginny's tastes" Lucy said "I think she'll like this one the most" she held up a ring that was all gold but rather plain except for a ruby on the top "it's.." Harry was almost speechless "it's wonderful" he said with a massive grin.

He hugged his Mother happily "she'll love it...I hope".

His Mum ruffled his hair again and as he attempted to smooth it she said "I'm sure she will sweetie".

Harry looked at Mr Carter who had his hands clasped behind his back and a wide smile on his lined face "is that your final decision?" the man asked.

Harry nodded feeling happy to have made the choice "this is the ring for my Gin Gin" he said as he pointed to the ring.

He and Draco were informed of the price and paid Mr Carter the correct money. As they left with their purchases Mr Carter called out "I hope everything goes well".

They thanked him for his kind words and exited the shop.

* * *

Christmas Day came and went and on the afternoon of the 27th of December Harry and Draco flooed to Professor Dumbledore's Office at Hogwarts.

When they arrived they found that Ginny, Luna, Hermione, Ron and Neville were already there conversing with the Headmaster. They stepped out of the fireplace, dusted themselves down and then greeted their friends and Headmaster.

Once all of the pleasantries had been exchanged Dumbledore said "I am very glad that you have all agreed to be here tonight as tonight we have a crucial task to complete. One that, I must confess, I should have completed by myself months ago but I did not want to tip off Voldemort of our knowledge of his Horcruxes".

Harry felt this made sense and said "so Professor, what are we doing tonight?".

Professor Dumbledore's smiled faded "tonight we have a grim task. Not a pleasant one but one that must be done and as you have already done so before Harry this duty must fall to another of your esteemed company".

"We're destroying one of the Horcruxes aren't we Sir" Harry's brother Draco guessed.

Dumbledore nodded "exactly right my boy, exactly right".

"In that case I'll do it" Draco said resolutely.

Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled briefly at the bravery of his student.

He left the room for a moment and when he returned he was carrying in one hand the sword of Gryffindor and in the other a small wrapped package that Harry knew to be the Gaunt ring.

The ring was carefully unwrapped and floated onto the desk "be ready for anything my boy" Dumbledore instructed as he handed the sword to Draco. Draco nodded and tightened his grip on the sword hilt "lets do this" he said calmly.

Draco approached the desk, raised the sword above his head and cut down with all his might using the tip of the blade.

There was a loud piercing scream and a black substance just like that from the diary began to issue forth from the ring and pool all over the Headmasters desk.

In moments it was all over as the liquid dissipated and the Gaunt family ring lay blackened and smoking on the desk.

Draco was breathing hard as he dropped the sword to the wooden floor "is it done?" he asked the old wizard.

Dumbledore beamed at him "yes indeed my boy. You have struck a blow for the forces of light this evening" the old wizard clapped him warmly on the shoulder while the others also congratulated him.

"There is one more reason however for our meeting like this tonight" Dumbledore cut short the celebration "I have a memory that must be seen by you all. It is rather important to the waging of this war and it's successful conclusion" he informed them all.

Harry had, of course, already known about the memory due to it being his mission to retrieve it from Professor Slughorn.

The seven of them agreed to view the memory and all linked hands leaning over the pensieve in which the memory already sat.

They felt the pulling sensation and fell for a time before landing on the flagstone floor of what looked like a classroom.

Harry watched with the others as the scene played out just as it had done the previous time. The difference now was that Slughorn did not evade the question "Horcruxes Tom are a very dark piece of magic and are a means of...of anchoring one's soul to the mortal world even though the body is destroyed or damaged beyond all use".

"I see" said Riddle "and how would I split my soul into...say...seven pieces?".

Slughorn was flabbergasted "se...se...seven?" he stuttered in disbelief "my dear boy!" he exclaimed "isn't it bad enough to take one life? to take SEVEN...that's...it's...it's monstrous".

"I realise that Professor" Riddle replied smoothly and then smiled "it's all hypothetical of course" he lied "I don't wish to use the magic merely to understand it".

Slughorn smiled at this looking visibly relieved "oh that is good to know my boy. Well the only way hypothetically to split the soul into...seven...as you asked is to...err...to kill seven beings".

The scene dissolved and soon the seven New Marauders found themselves standing on the wooden floor of the Headmasters Office.

The first thing Harry said to Dumbledore as their eyes met was "seven pieces?!".

* * *

Lord Voldemort had been having a rather good time that night as he tortured several Muggles and received reports from his Deatheaters of a successful attack on Mr Amos Diggory and his wife. The wife was dead and Mr Diggory languished in a cramped cell awaiting his fate at Voldemort's hands.

He laughed to himself as he thought of the one that had dragged Diggory in. His very own son Cedric. It had been a pleasure to take the fool down a peg or two and he would enjoy finishing him off...slowly.

Just as he grasped a goblet and began to take a sip of wine a slight pain shot through him. He dropped the goblet in surprise causing the drink to splash all over the stone floor.

"What...what was that?" he asked himself as he gripped the sides of his throne.

The brief pain passed. 'What could have caused this?' he asked himself in his head.

He was interrupted as someone entered the room "My Lord" the figure bowed before him "yes?" Voldemort said irritably, his wand twitching.

"My Lord you asked me to bring in the prisoner when he regained consciousness" said the young man.

Voldemort's lipless mouth curled in a mockery of a smile "so I did" he said feeling better already "bring him in and I shall deal with him" he said laughing cruelly.


	52. Chapter 52

Disclaimer: It all belongs to JK Rowling except my original characters such as Lucy & Molly

* * *

Chapter Fifty Two Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw, Proposals & Wedding Preparations

The Christmas holidays had come and gone, New Years Eve had come and gone and so had David's ninth birthday.

The month of January too had passed by rather fast as Harry and the other New Marauders settled back into the routine of classes, Quidditch, homework and Defence Association meetings within the grounds of Hogwarts.

Several times in the month of January the seven of them had attended meetings of the Order of the Phoenix and Harry still shuddered at some of the reports given to them by his Dad, the other Aurors, Minister Fudge and by the spy within the Deatheater ranks who Harry and the others had now met as he had managed to arrange to meet a few trusted people at an unofficial meeting.

It had been surprising when the individual had pulled back the hood of their robes and revealed Victor Krum the Quidditch sensation.

Harry hadn't been sure the spy could be trusted before such a reveal but afterwards he was left in no doubt.

He knew from conversations with Krum that the Bulgarian wizard and his family despised Voldemort and all such maniacs who willingly and blindly followed him.

February rolled in with mist, rain and scattered snow showers.

For Harry the month was going to be very busy for not was he heading up the Defence Association he was also a Prefect and the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch and it was in this latter capacity that he had decided to increase the workload.

He really wanted to keep the streak of Quidditch Cups going and even more so since it was his first of two seasons as Captain and nothing solidified such a position more than winning it.

To this end he had called a full team meeting of all seven first team players and all substitutes for the 1st of February which was a Saturday.

In the meeting he had informed his groaning team members of the increase in the number of practises and the increase in intensity.

When they had complained he appealed to their winning mentality especially in the case of Ron who'd been Goalkeeper the previous year when Angelina had Captained the team to a Quidditch trophy.

Ron had backed him up looking almost as hungry as Harry was to capture another trophy.

Thus it was that every single night after classes the seven first team players and all substitutes would spend an hour training at the Quidditch stadium and would troop in wet, cold and muddy to the Gryffindor common room.

On weekends the schedule was even more intense. Due to the fact that everyone on the team had much more free time during Saturday and Sunday Harry mad sure that the team trained from nine am to five pm each weekend day with only a thirty minute break for lunch.

By now the team were beginning to see it from his point of view and thought they hated being cold, wet and muddy they had all decided to try their hardest in the hopes of winning the Quidditch Cup.

* * *

It was now the 14th of February. Valentine's Day. In a show of compassion to the students and especially those in relationships classes had been cancelled for the day and a special Hogsmeade visit had been set up.

When Harry woke up that morning he felt a horrible knot in the pit of his stomach and felt that he might be sick.

He knew that it had nothing at all to do with food and was merely his nerves.

He felt another wave of sickness disturbing his stomach as he thought the fact that today was the day. Today he would make the biggest decision of his life. Bigger even than how to defeat Voldemort.

Today he would be asking the girl he loved more than anything else and more than anyone else in the whole world, to marry him.

Harry had a lot of confidence as you might expect for someone who'd been raised by four Marauders but there were just some things that worried him.

As made the futile effort to flatten down his messy black hair he worried that he wouldn't know what words to say.

As he showered and got changed into a white shirt, black trousers, red tie and black jacket he worried that she wouldn't respond.

As he exited the dormitory with the everlasting flowers he'd bought for her and the ring safely tucked in his pocket he worried that she would reject him or say it was too soon to even think of marriage.

As he arrived in the common room he ignored the looks of Dean and Seamus who both asked why he was so dressed up saying only "you'll find out later...one way or the other" he then left them to puzzle over this and walked over to the fireplace.

He was so entranced by the flames dancing about that he didn't notice someone walk up next to him and take his hand.

He looked to his right and saw Ginny looking at him in, what he thought was adoration and knew was definitely love "my handsome Har Har" she remarked as she took his lips and pressed them to hers kissing him deeply.

When they eventually broke apart for air she breathed "god I love doing that".

Harry laughed slightly breathlessly and said "you beautiful as ever my lovely Gin Gin".

Ginny curtsied a bit and then chuckled "why thank you kind sir" she replied.

"I...err..I got you some flowers" he said nervously.

Ginny took them and sniffed them "oh Harry they're my favourite!" she exclaimed "how did you know?".

Harry looked embarrassed "I uh...asked your Mum" he said.

To his surprise Ginny thought that to be wonderful "you young romantic" she said with love in her eyes "that you would find that out just for me...have I mentioned how much I love you?".

Harry chuckled and grinned "Only about four hundred times" he said "why?, have I told you how much I love you?".

Ginny also chuckled "only about five hundred times" they both laughed at this and then Harry said "I thought we could go and have a picnic today like we did last year" he then felt embarrassed "unless of course...I mean...we did it last year...you might...might prefer..." Ginny put a finger to his lips "don't be silly" she said with a smile "if you went to .as much trouble as you did last year a picnic would be perfect".

Harry sighed in relief and then said "would you care to take my arm my lady?".

Ginny giggled "why thank you...my lord".

The two of them exited the the common room through the portrait hole totally oblivious to the stares of the other Gryffindor's. They only had eyes for each other at that moment.

The two of them walked arm in arm through the castle, out the oak front doors and down through the grounds over the damp grass of the sloping lawns and on down to Hagrids cabin.

Despite it being mid-February the day was bright and sunny. It was cool but warm enough to be outside which made Harry glad he had come up with the idea for a picnic.

He still had nerves about the big proposal later on but he violently squashed these nerves down telling himself that they would not stop him from asking and what ever happened after that...well that was fate.

When they reached Hagrids cabin they could hear someone bustling about around the side in the vegetable patch. "Hagrid!" Harry called out.

The bustling noises stopped, loud footsteps sounded and Hagrid appeared "ah there ye are" he said with a smile "here for the picnic things are ye?".

Harry nodded "thanks for keeping them here Hagrid" he said gratefully.

"Not a problem" his large friend said as he headed up the steps of the hut, pushed the door open and went inside.

After a minute or so he returned with a picnic basket clutched in his large hand "here ye go" he said to Harry as he handed it over "I'll see you too later".

They said goodbye to Hagrid and headed for, what was by now, their favourite spot. A lone tree in amongst a group of rocks down by the Black Lake.

Once they reached the lake they set the basket down, took out the blanket and unrolled it.

As they sat on the blanket and began to eat their food they stared at the lake as the Giant Squid did several laps around it.

Once the food was done and they'd talked themselves out of anything to say Ginny stood up "we should get back to the castle" she said as she tried to pull Harry up "it's almost time for the Valentine's Day feast".

Harry held on tightly "no Gin Gin, hang on" he said. It was now or never. His girlfriend looked at him in surprise "what is it love?" she asked in concern as she saw his serious face.

Harry took a deep breath, took the ring box from his jacket pocket, got down on one knee as was tradition and opened the box.

Ginny gasped as she saw the ring and clearly guessed what Harry was doing. Harry removed the ring from it's box and as he held Ginny's right hand he said rather nervously "Ginevra Molly Weasley, we've been dating for several years now. I know I love you with all my heart and I hope...hope you feel the same. I therefore ask that you do me the great honour of becoming my wife".

For a moment there was silence and Harry began to regret the whole idea but then Ginny said softly "oh Harry my love" and wrapped him in tight warm embrace which he returned with all his heart. When Ginny pulled away she said "yes my love. Yes I'll marry you!".

Harry smiled so wide that he was sure he looked like a complete goofball but he didn't care. He only had eyes for Ginny "I love you so much Gin Gin" he whispered as they kissed deeply.

After ten minutes of some deep kissing they reluctantly left the happy spot to return to the castle.

As they were walking up hand in hand Harry heard a yell of pure joy over his mental link and smiled to himself "she said yes then I take it?" he quipped amusedly over the link.

"I can't believe it!" his brother responded "I never thought she'd say yes so soon".

"Of course she was going to say yes you doughnut, she loves you!" Harry exclaimed.

"You're one to talk" his brother hit back as he laughed "I could feel your nervousness all the way back up in the castle!".

"Yeah, yeah" Harry said with a laugh "lets just both agree that we were petrified at the thought of doing it".

"Agreed" his brother replied and then added "of course...you know there is one obstacle left...".

"Their families" Harry groaned.

"Right in one" his brother responded seriously now.

Neither of them yet knew for certain how Ginny or Luna's families were going to react to the news.

Harry knew that Hermione and Neville would both be happy for them as would their sister Molly and of course they'd had support from their parents over the whole engagement thing but telling the Weasleys was going to require a lot of courage.

The one he dreaded telling the most...was Ron.

Ron was a lot more supportive of their relationship these days than he had been when Harry and Ginny first began dating but even so he tended to grimace whenever he saw the two of them kissing.

Ginny must have noticed the conflicting emotions of her boyfriends face as she asked with concern "Harry, what are you think about?".

"Hmm?" Harry replied coming back to earth "oh...sorry love" he said as he pecked her on the cheek "well first off I was talking to Draco over our link. He was proposing to Luna too".

"Really?" Ginny asked as her eyes widened in amazement at this.

Harry nodded and grinned "yep and she said yes. I had a feeling she did given his yell of joy".

"That's wonderful!" Ginny enthused "we must congratulate them when we get back to the castle".

"Yeah...the castle" Harry's face fell and he became brooding once more.

At the look on Ginny's face and in answer to the unasked question he said "I'm thinking about us telling your family".

Ginny's smile faltered a bit too as she thought about this stumbling block "I am terrified of how Ron is going to take it".

"You're terrified...of Ron?" Ginny clarified in amusement.

Harry nodded grimly "I know he can be a prat sometimes but you know what a temper he has on him" he gazed into his girlfriends beautiful brown eyes "I don't think I can tell him Gin Gin" he said in worry.

His girlfriend laughed heartily at these words. Harry raised an eyebrow "what's so funny?" he asked her feeling a bit annoyed.

Ginny raised her right hand to indicate the gleaming gold ring containing the gem "I think he'll guess when he see's this on my finger" she said as she stopped laughing and wiped away her tears.

Harry knew she was right. Even if he tried to keep it from Ron the ring would make it glaringly obvious and in any case Hermione, Neville or one of the others was bound to tell his best friend even if Harry said nothing. He sighed heavily "will you be there with me...when I tell him?" he asked feeling worried.

Ginny squeezed his hand reassuringly "just try and stop me being there" she beamed at him. They shared a kiss and walked through the open doors of Hogwarts Castle.

The two of them walked through the Entrance Hall to the doors of the Great Hall which were wide open.

The Aurors on either side of the doorway nodded politely to Harry and Ginny who both nodded back respectfully.

As they reached the Gryffindor table they took their usual seats near Draco and Luna who were getting hugs, handshakes and in Draco's case several slaps on the back as everyone nearby congratulated them on their engagement. Even Ron was really happy for them raising a goblet of butter beer to toast the happy couple a gesture that was followed by many others doing the same.

The hall itself was decorated spectacularly with hearts, roses and thousands of fragrant candles lighting the room.

A band had been booked to play love songs and played in the background as people ate, drank, laughed and loved.

For Harry the feast dragged on interminably as he worried over Ron's reaction to the engagement.

At eleven pm the feast ended and the students and staff left the Great Hall with most of them in high spirits.

Harry and Ginny were among the first to reach the portrait hole and Harry gave the password "Lancelot" in answer to the imperious demand for said password.

As they were the first to enter the common room the pair were forced to wait for the others to arrive which they did around five minutes later.

As the common room filled up Harry's unease grew. It was one thing to break the news of their engagement to Ron if they room was near empty or only contained other New Marauders but was quite a different prospect altogether if most of the Gryffindor's were there to hear.

"Gin Gin, go over and tell Ron and the others to come with us up to the boys dormitory" he told her.

Ginny nodded and Harry was grateful for her being so intuitive.

He watched his girlfriend wade through the mass of milling Gryffindor's and as he did so he exchanged a few pleasantries with other Gryffindor's including Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas.

A minute or so after heading over to the others Ginny began to wade back through the crowd and with her came the rest of the New Marauders plus a belligerent Molly who refused to be left in the common room "this isn't about the Order" Harry told her.

"I still want to be there" Molly said stubbornly as she put her hands on her hips.

Harry sighed "fine you can come up too" he said wearily.

The group headed up the stairs one by one and went into the Sixth Years boys dorm room.

Once everyone was inside Harry shut the door, locked it and put up a silencing spell to prevent any sound from travelling out of the room.

"What's this all about Harry?" Hermione asked at once and Harry smiled. Hermione could never bear not knowing something.

"Yeah Harry" Neville added "Draco said you had something important to tell us but wouldn't say what".

Harry flashed a grateful smile at his brother for allowing him to reveal all himself "first off I want to say congratulations to my brother Draco and to Luna".

Harry hugged Draco and patted him on the back "I'm really happy for you brother mine" he said sincerely "you really deserve it and I'm sure you'll be really happy together".

Draco smiled at the compliment "you can count on it" he replied.

Harry walked up to Luna "Luna I am so thrilled for guys. I never expected Draco to propose so soon" he said with a grin "you make sure to keep him in line alright" he warned "you know what he's like".

"A right troublemaker" Luna replied with a laugh and an adoring gaze at her intended "but he's my troublemaker".

Harry laughed and hugged her.

Once Ginny had added her congratulations to the happy couple she said to Harry "it's time Harry, lets tell them now".

Harry nodded "we didn't just bring you guys up here to congratulate Luna and my brother" Harry began.

"Yeah we figured" Ron said in amusement "though I can't see why you needed to lock the door".

'You'll find out soon' Harry thought. What he actually said was "I imagine you've all noticed by now that Ginny is wearing a ring".

Everyone but Ron nodded. Ron himself just frowned as he stared at the ring "well I can tell you all now that she doesn't have the ring merely because I felt like buying her jewellery" he took Ginny's hand "earlier today me and Ginny went for a picnic and I asked her a question" he gazed lovingly at his girlfriend "I was terrified she'd say no or tell me it was too soon but...I asked her to marry me...and she said YES!".

There was a few moments of silence in the room as the others all digested this information.

The silence was broken by happy squeals from Hermione, Luna and Molly who ran over to Ginny to congratulate her before hugging Harry and kissing him on the cheek.

His brother Draco walked up to him and grabbed him in a fierce hug "I'm proud of you for having the courage to do this you know" he told Harry with a smile.

Harry smiled back "not courageous it's just that I love Ginny more than I feared her answer" Draco nodded and clapped him on the back.

"I knew you'd ask her soon" Neville said as he approached Harry and hugged him "it's obvious you two are meant to be together so I'd have been surprised if you didn't ask".

Harry grinned "what can I say?" he replied "she keeps me centred".

Once everyone else had congratulated Harry and Ginny Harry looked towards the one person other than his siblings whose reaction really mattered. Ron was standing apart from the rest of the group and was completely silent. He had said nothing. He hadn't even reacted when Harry had revealed the engagement.

Harry and Ginny exchanged nervous glances. Ginny nodded, Harry took her hand and they both stepped forwards feeling resolute "uh...Ron?" Harry said to his friend who seemed to snap out of whatever trance he had been in "you...you...you asked...you're getting...married" Ron said sounding disbelieving.

To everyone's surprise the reaction that they'd been expecting, one of indignation, anger and protestations over her age, never materialised. Before Harry and Ginny knew what was happening Harry's best friend, Ginny's brother who was usually reserved in terms of affection grabbed the pair in a bone crushing hug which was as strong as his mothers.

When he pulled away Harry was astonished to see tears in his friends eyes. Usually he'd have made a joke about it but he decided that now wasn't the right time as this was a big moment.

"I'm not crying" Ron denied as he wiped the tears away "I'm just so happy for you guys".

He looked at them both "I know was against your relationship at the start and I admit that if you'd got engaged last year or even a few months ago I'd probably have reacted differently but it just so happens that I've got something important to say myself".

Harry's eyes widened. He loved Ron like a brother but one of the things his best friend could not be called was verbally expressive. He was overjoyed to have Ron's support in this as not only did it mean the world to both him and Ginny it also made things easier for when they would tell the rest of Ginny's family that summer.

"Thanks Ron...you are a great friend, you know that right?" Harry said with a grin.

Ron grinned back "yeah I know" he replied cheekily causing everyone to laugh.

Ron's face turned serious again as he walked over to Hermione, dropped to one knee and took his girlfriends hand in his own "I know I have little to give you" Ron began "but I can and do willingly give all of my love, my heart and soul to you Mione, you mean more to me than life itself".

Hermione had tears in her eyes at this proclamation of love which she had doubtless not expected.

"I therefore say this with great hopefulness and humility. Hermione Jean Granger, my one true love, my soul mate, I don't have a ring to give you yet but I will soon so I ask...will you marry me?".

A few seconds later the redheaded youth had his answer as Hermione hauled him to his feet, threw her arms round his neck and kissed him long and passionately.

When they broke away both slightly breathless she murmured "yes I will my love. I will marry you".

The room exploded into cheers of joy and jubilation and there was much slapping of backs, hugs and words of congratulations.

"well" Harry said with a massive grin "I suppose it's time we told the other Gryffindor's that there are two more engagements". The others voiced their loud support to this. Harry removed the silencing spell, unlocked the door and the eight of them headed down the stairs and into the packed common room.

With their girlfriends and now fiancees by their side Harry and Ron informed the whole of Gryffindor House the wonderful news.

It was met with an explosion of cheering, clapping, whistling and shouts of joy.

Backs were slapped, people hugged and words exchanged as Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were congratulated by all of Gryffindor House.

An impromptu celebration party began which ended only in the small hours of the morning as a red faced and furious Professor McGonagall stormed into the common room to order them up to bed.

She did not relax her stance but gave a rare smile when Harry informed her of the two engagements and actually hugged the four of them!.

Harry and Ginny had decided by mutual consent not to speak to the rest of her family until the summer as it would be too awkward to explain it in a letter. The same position was taken by Hermione in regard to her parents.

* * *

The week between the excitement of Valentine's Day and the second Quidditch match passed by rather mundanely with the only interesting thing of note to happen on the Friday as a notice was pinned up on the House noticeboard in the common room which advertised Apparation lessons for a fee of twelve galleons followed by a test which if passed would grant the wizard or witch a license to Apparate anywhere.

As Harry had read the notice he felt rather excited and had decided he would sign up immediately. And so he would have done too if a very disappointing detail had not been pointed out by the eagle eyed Hermione who had also been scanning the notice "damn!" she'd exclaimed in disappointment "it says here near the bottom that you need to be seventeen or turning seventeen during the school year to take the lessons".

Harry had felt crushing disappointment at this as such a skill would have been very useful when facing Voldemort.

As it happened only two of the New Marauders were old enough to take the lessons, Ron and Draco who were both heavily encouraged by the rest of the New Marauders who felt it was a very good skill to have.

Even Harry who had been upset at not being able to take the lessons until the following year had backed the others up and declared that Ron and Draco should do it, consequently both boys had signed their names up and paid the fee with Ron's being a gift from Percy who he had owled and happened to mention it to.

It wad now Saturday the 22nd of February and time for the second Quidditch match of the season which would, for Gryffindor, be against Ravenclaw.

Harry had been driving his team mates very hard in preparation for the match with improved tactics after Neville had surreptitiously attended Ravenclaws training sessions and reported that the new Quidditch Captain Michael Corner was an aerial genius who was not only Captain but Goalkeeper and according to Neville it was going to be very difficult for the Gryffindor team to get any goals passed him.

That afternoon at lunch none of the team felt very hungry except for Harry who had been through such match situations enough to be used to them.

With the help of the other New Marauders he convinced his other six team mates to at least eat something light to give them energy and focus for the game.

As the match was taking place at two pm Harry and his team mates left the Great Hall, brooms slung over their shoulders, at one thirty in order to have time to prepare for the match.

In the changing rooms Harry gave a brief speech about the need to maintain their focus and intensity given their table position. The speech seemed to help and definitely fired up the younger members of the team.

At two pm exactly, Harry stood up, took hold of his broom and led his team out of the changing room and into the tunnel from which could be heard the excitable and distinctive voice of Fourth Year Gryffindor Dennis Creevey, who was perhaps even more excitable than his older brother "and here come the Gryffindor's!" Dennis shouted "it's Potter, Black, Weasley, Finnegan, Creevey, Peakes and Coote! and what a team they are!".

"Creevey..." Professor McGonagall said seriously.

"Sorry Professor" Dennis said without sounding at all sorry at the bias.

The pre-match ritual was went over including the handshake between Captains.

Despite being rival team Captains Harry had always quite liked Michael and the feeling was mutual. As a result they shook hands more warmly than Captains normally did and Michael actually said "good luck Harry".

"And you Michael. May the best team win" Harry replied.

They both grinned at each other and moved back to their teams. The whistle blew, fourteen broom shot into the air followed by the referee Madam Hooch, the two bludgers, quaffle and tiny golden snitch.

Harry spent a few moments giving words of encouragement to his team before he set about his task of capturing the snitch as soon as possible.

His opponent for the match was Anthony Goldstein a blonde haired boy of half-blood parentage who was as a quick on a broom as any Harry had seen before.

The two of them swooped through the skies battling each other and the torrential rain which began to hammer down fiercely as the game went on.

It was a very even contest down below with the amazing skills of both sets of Beaters, Chasers and Goalkeepers putting on an incredible display but one that lacked any goals apart from one goal apiece both of which had been down to luck for the Chaser who had scored.

The rain was making it hard for Harry to see anything even with the Impervious Charm he'd applied to his glasses before the game.

His attempts to catch the snitch were not helped by Goldstein's same relentless pursuit of the game winning ball.

Every time Harry reached out to get the ball or even spotted it there was Goldstein dogging his broomsticks flight, knocking into him and putting him off course.

The game had been going on for an hour with nothing decisive for either side when Harry finally caught sight of the snitch again.

He zoomed off after it as it sped away and found to his consternation but also respect that Goldstein was right on his trail and was also closing on the snitch too.

For Harry winning the game was too important. He had to catch the snitch to put Gryffindor in pole position going into their final game against Hufflepuff.

He wracked his brains for what to do and could come up with only one thing.

He chased after the snitch which reached to just above the ground. Harry and Goldstein went into steep dives. Down and down they flew both set on their course.

Ten feet above the ground the snitch changed course. Harry zoomed off after it taking a look behind him. He saw to his satisfaction that Goldstein had been forced to leap from his broom and roll on the earth in order to avoid being injured.

He knew that Goldstein would not get back on his broom and back into the match before he caught the ball which made his task infinitely easier.

Sure enough, by the time Goldstein was flying after Harry again Harry had already closed his hand around the small golden ball and the result proclaimed triumphantly by Dennis "Harry Potter has caught the snitch! what a player he is!".

A whistle blew "Gryffindor wins!" Madam Hooch declared.

Before Harry knew it he was being mobbed by a group of orange and red blurs all hugging him, clapping him on the back and cheering him.

The Gryffindor section of the stands had gone wild with cheering with some starting up a chant of "Potter, Potter, Potter!".

As Harry and the team descended Ginny leapt up into his arms and he held her as he kissed her deeply.

An excitable and boisterous Neville shouted "Harry, this means we're in pole position to win this year!".

Harry grinned. He knew this already but he wouldn't point this out to Neville.

* * *

Spring arrived with all the joy that it brought as the weather improved with brighter skies, less rain and the flowers and plants all blooming marvellously.

On the 1st of March which was a Saturday Harry and Draco were given special permission by the Headmaster Professor Dumbledore to visit Marauder Manor and head from there to Diagon Alley in order to fetch something very important to Remus' and Tonks' wedding in April.

When they arrived in the Manor's drawing-room none of them were particularly looking forward to the visit to Diagon Alley.

Usually they would have been but in the first place Diagon Alley was not such a fun place to visit anymore and in the second place they did not like the task they were heading there for.

There apprehension at the visit only increased when Sirius entered the drawing-room and after a round of hugs said "have you all heard the news about Ollivanders?".

They all shook their heads, last they'd heard he'd been doing fine.

"He's been kidnapped" Sirius told them seriously "and not only has he been kidnapped but the shop's been ransacked and smashed up, no doubt by Deatheaters.

"Why would they kidnap a wand maker?" Harry said voicing his concern.

Sirius shrugged "I can only assume they want some information from him. Something that only he knows about".

"So it's something to do with wand lore" Draco said tapping his chin thoughtfully.

Sirius shrugged again "must be son" he replied "though what it's about I have no clue".

When the two of them plus Sirius, James and Peter arrived in the Leaky Cauldron by floo they were met by Percy and Kingsley who greeted them with handshakes and escorted them through the empty pub, through the yard and through the archway into Diagon Alley.

As they walked through the streets it looked like a ghost town to them with so few customers about and the ones who were shopping doing so hurriedly.

A number of shops along the main street had closed up.

As they passed by the damaged premises of Ollivanders Wand Shop they paused briefly. Harry remarked sadly "everyone bought their wands from Ollivanders".

"Wonder what will happen now?" Draco mused as they continued to walk on.

"Well as a matter of fact the Ministry has stepped in" James informed them "we've established a temporary wand shop inside the Ministry where witches and wizards can buy their wands".

Despite his sadness at what had befallen Ollivander Harry was still glad that the Ministry had stepped in and sorted the problem out.

Eventually they reached Madam Malkins Robes for All Occasions. The curtains were drawn in the shop window and the sign said closed.

James stepped forward and knocked loudly. From inside there came the sound of shuffling feet and a scared voice said "are you friend or foe?" it was Madam Malkin and she sounded terrified.

"Friend" James said confidently.

There was the immediate sound of a bolt being pulled back and the large witch looked them over critically before admitting them to her shop "sorry about that" she said apologetically "but with these Deatheaters about and what happened to old Ollivander you can't be too careful". She surveyed the group "now then gentlemen how can I help you today?".

"We need suits Madam" said Sirius smiling.

"Oh of course!" she said happily "for the wedding that's happening in April" Sirius nodded "yep. Our little Remus is finally growing up" he said mock tearfully causing a round of laughter.

It didn't take long for Madam Malkin to wheel out several racks of suits for each of the wizards to try on. In the end Harry settled for a light grey jacket with an equally grey waistcoat, grey trousers and sensible black shoes.

Personally he couldn't see the need for all this dressing up but Tonks had insisted and who were they to refuse the bride on her special day?.

The kidnapping of Ollivander was not only bad for those who had been his customers but it also made Harry wonder just what a wand maker could know that no one else knew.

It then struck him as obvious. Voldemort wanted to know the location of the elder wand and since he couldn't interrogate Dumbledore a wand maker was the only one who could point him to who else would know about it.

To Harry's mind the only one who would know about it besides Dumbledore was the previous owner Gellert Grindelwald who Dumbledore had defeated in a duel in 1945.

Harry knew he had to speak to Dumbledore and quickly before Voldemort could get to Grindelwald and get the information he sought.

* * *

Authors Note: Hello all my wonderful readers, hope you are enjoying the story so far.

In the next chapter Harry warns Dumbledore, Ron has a birthday party, Remus & Tonks have a wedding...but will it work out?.


	53. Chapter 53

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything Harry Potter related

* * *

Chapter Fifty Three: Birthday, Warning, Wedding & Quidditch

After Harry and Draco had deposited their new suits into their wardrobes at the Manor they had just enough time for a quick goodbye and they had to return to Hogwarts.

'It's lucky' thought Harry 'that the floo connection takes us straight to Dumbledore's Office'. Or rather it would have been useful had the esteemed Professor actually been in his office as Harry had hoped he'd be.

Harry bit back his frustration and panic. He glanced at his watch and swore. Of course Dumbledore wouldn't be here at the moment. It was 12:30 pm which meant lunch was in full swing and Dumbledore usually stayed until lunch was over talking and joking with his fellow Professors.

Harry was about to tell Draco about the situation to get his take on it. When he turned to his brother though he found, not surprisingly, that his brother looked just as anxious as he was which told him that his brother had read his discovery over the mental link.

"What do we do now?" Draco asked.

Harry thought for a moment and then decided "this is far too important to wait to tell him. Every moment is precious in stopping Voldemort's search".

His brother nodded "we should head down to the Great Hall then, go to the staff table and speak to Dumbledore. If we tell him it's important he come and speak to us since we're part of the Order".

Harry gave an approving nod and the two of them hurried from the office towards the winding spiral staircase.

The two of them were so impatient and anxious to be able to speak to Dumbledore that they ran down the spiral staircase as it was moving and were ready to spring from the stairs as the gargoyles protecting it sprang aside to reveal the entrance.

They jumped off. Since they were on the Fourth Floor they would need to hurry as they were quite a way from the Great Hall.

The pair of them ran through the corridors and down the staircases not stopping to speak to anyone not even Nearly Headless Nick who greeted them warmly and seemed insulted at their non-response.

After much running they reached the Entrance Hall and raced towards the Great Hall, the doors of which were thankfully already open.

They sped into the Great Hall and then halted. Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table and saw Crabbe, Goyle and Nott looking at them intently.

"We need to act calmly" Draco hissed as he had also been glancing over.

The two of them stopped their hurrying and walked calmly up the aisle between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables "Harry why were you hurrying into the Great Hall?" Ginny asked in worry.

Harry took his girlfriends hand, gave it a squeeze and responded "don't worry love, I'll tell you it all once we've spoken to Dumbledore, ok?".

Ginny smiled and nodded "alright" she replied.

Harry and Draco resumed their walk up the aisle and when they reached the staff table they could see the usual Professors, Hagrid on the end who was deep in conversation with tiny Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout next to him, Professor Snape engrossed in his meal next to her and there, in the centre, chatting to Professor McGonagall was Professor Dumbledore.

Professor Snape who had just looked up from his meal was the first to spot him and he must have realised that what they had to say was important as he pushed his chair back, stood up and hurried over to the Headmaster.

After a quick conversation with him and Professor McGonagall the Deputy Head the three of them left the staff table, descended the raised platform and went to meet Harry and Draco.

"Harry, Draco, what is this matter regarding?" Dumbledore inquired softly.

Harry swallowed "I think it would be best if the three of you and us two went up to your office Professor" he said quietly but urgently "it's a matter that can't wait and it concerns you very much".

Dumbledore seemed to be pondering just what it was that could concern him. After a while he replied "very well we shall retire to my office and discuss everything there".

The five of them walked down the aisle and out through the open doorway of the Great Hall with much muttering and whispering following them as they went.

It took a lot of walking as it had on the way there but after walking up staircases and along corridors they eventually found the two stone gargoyles that guarded the entrance to the spiral staircase.

"Vanilla Fudge" said Professor Dumbledore giving the latest password. The gargoyles immediately sprang aside to allow them through.

They stepped onto the moving staircase and waited as it moved upwards in a spiral. After a short time it reached the corridor near Dumbledore's Office and living quarters and stopped with a clunk.

They got off one at a time and Dumbledore led the way to his office, the doors of which opened creakily as they all reached it.

When they entered Professor Dumbledore wasted no time as he aimed his wand at the floor and muttered an incantation. Four comfortable armchairs appeared in a semicircle around the Headmasters desk behind which he moved to stand "don't stand on ceremony" he said "please everyone take a seat".

The four of them each chose an armchair and sat down. Professor Dumbledore also sat down and the three Professors looked intently at Harry and Draco were sitting near each other "begin when you are ready Harry" Professor Dumbledore said kindly.

Harry took a deep breath "well Professor we were in Diagon Alley earlier as you know, getting our suits for the wedding of Moony and Tonks".

The Professors all nodded as they had known this "well as we were heading to Madam Malkins Robes shop we passed by Ollivanders Wand Shop which was partially boarded up with broken windows and everything".

"It was awful" Draco shuddered.

"Everyone got their wands from there" Snape agreed "it's truly a tragedy".

"Well anyway" said Harry "when we were in Madam Malkins I began to think about why Voldemort and his Deatheaters would bother kidnapping an elderly wand maker and then I realised...".

"What did you realise?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I realised that there is only one subject on which he could want information from a wand expert".

It seemed Dumbledore had guessed immediately as he said "the Elder Wand".

Harry nodded "I think Voldemort is trying to find it and use it against me as he knows it not only has supreme power but will also be able to harm me unlike his own wand which is my wands twin".

Dumbledore nodded "yes I believe that to be exactly what is happening and if it is the case he shall go to the last person known to have had the wand".

"Grindelwald" Professor Snape said calmly.

"Precisely so" said Dumbledore seriously "Grindelwald has nothing to gain by refusing to tell him so Voldemort will easily get the information and if he does he will then know that...I..." for once in his life Dumbledore seemed nervous before he said "I have the Elder Wand".

"What?!" Harry and Draco both exclaimed in surprise. Even Professors Snape and McGonagall looked surprised at this development.

"How did you get the Elder Wand?" McGonagall asked in amazement.

Dumbledore looked to each of them in turn and sighed "when I duelled Grindelwald in 1945 he was not using just any wand" he told them "he was using the Elder Wand which I took from him as the prize for winning our duel".

Harry's eyes widened in horror and Draco summed up their feelings "but if you have the wand then that means Voldemort...".

"Will be after me" Dumbledore answered "yes I know young Draco. It is however another good bait to draw him to Hogwarts and make the mistake of trying to kill Harry".

Harry realised he was right. Although it was a dangerous bait if it was combined with the prophecy orb Voldemort in his impulsiveness would not be able to resist coming to Hogwarts himself allowing the latest confrontation between him and Harry and the accidental destruction of his equally accidental Horcrux.

* * *

That afternoon of the 1st of March was very busy for Harry, Draco, Ginny, Luna, Neville and Molly as they with help from Dean and Seamus set up a party outside Hagrids cabin for Ron's seventeenth birthday.

As they didn't have that much time to get ready they were glad by the visit of the elder Weasley's and the elders of the Marauder Clan who helped them get the decorations up, pile up the presents and get the food and drink ready.

Their job was made easier by Hermione who was currently running a distraction action on Ron to keep him from finding any of the other New Marauders.

By five pm the party organisers had managed to get everything assembled for the party that evening.

At five minutes past five Hermione appeared walking down the sloping lawns towards Hagrids cabin. She wasn't alone as a blindfolded but still recognisable Ron was being led by her by the arm over the sloping lawns.

As they drew nearer Harry could hear Ron protesting "but why can't you take the blindfold off?".

"Because Ronald it wouldn't be a surprise!" Hermione replied sounding exasperated and Harry guessed they'd had this exact same conversation several times already.

Finally the pair of them reached the steps of Hagrids cabin and with help Hermione pulled Ron's blindfold off.

The tall redhead stared round in amazement.

It was plain from the look on his face that he had been expecting none of what he was seeing.

"I...but...I...I never..." he babbled.

Hermione kissed him on the cheek "happy birthday love" she said tenderly.

Ron pulled her into a hug and Harry grinned happily at the sight of the engaged couple.

Of course seeing them happy reminded him of the chat he was going to have to have with Mr and Mrs Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Percy and the Twins Fred and George all of whom were there at the party. He did not look forward to it one bit as he could just imagine their reaction.

One by one the remaining guests began to arrive and once everyone was present they all watched him tear open his presents which included, to his amazement and awe, a new broom purchased by the New Marauders together "we figured you could do with a new one given you're our Goalkeeper and all" said Harry with a smile.

He found himself enveloped in a hug from his best friend and when Ron relinquished the hug he said "it's beautiful guys, thank you, it's one of the best gifts I've ever gotten!".

He received further gifts, some were clothes, some sweets and chocolates, others were broom servicing kits and he also received a new wand holster as a joint gift from his brothers Bill and Charlie "we figured you could use one with all the fights you end up in" Bill remarked as Charlie guffawed.

The party was a very lively affair as people danced, talked and joked.

Harry was sitting at one of the large tables deep in thought as he nursed a butter beer, when he heard several thuds next to him. As he looked around he saw that Mr and Mrs Weasley, Bill and Charlie were all sat right up to close to him while Fred and George stood behind him and Percy stood to the side. They made him feel like he was condemned man.

He swallowed nervously wondering just how this was going to go "hello" he said as his voice broke in worry".

They were all looking at him sternly "what do you think Weasley's?" Mr Weasley asked them all seriously.

Each Weasley gave him a searching look as if trying to detect any flaws or faults in his character that would make him unsuitable for Ginny.

"We think he'll treat her right" Fred and George said together. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as they were the two brothers who cared the most about Ginny and her safety.

"I was at school for three three years with Harry in Gryffindor" Percy said "in the two years I was there after Ginny started school Harry was only ever kind to her, considerate and inclusive" he declared "I think he's the ideal husband for her" he grinned "and besides, he might be able to keep our famous Weasley temper in check".

"What do you two think?" Mr Weasley asked Bill and Charlie. Both of them stared intently at Harry for a moment before Bill spoke for them directly to Harry "if we agree that you can marry her" said Bill "you have to give us a few assurances and seal them with a wizards oath".

Harry felt no fear at being asked to do this only a bit of surprise. He knew he would NEVER break an oath regarding Ginny as he loved her with all his heart and soul "name the assurances" he said calmly.

Bill ticked them off on his fingers "firstly you guarantee you will never cheat on her, no matter how attractive other women may look to you" Harry nodded and Bill continued "secondly you will promise to keep her safe as long as it's in your power to do so and third you will never hurt her physically".

Harry was fine with the first two but at the last one he stood up his face red with anger "how dare you insinuate!" he yelled drawing attention from the other guests.

Ginny began to walk over "how could you...how could any of you think I would ever hurt Ginny?" he said the hurt and anger plain in his voice. His voice broke as he said "I love her more than life itself. More than the stars in the sky, more than Quidditch, more than magic even. She's my soul mate, my one true love and I would NEVER hurt her. I'd die before I did so" he said firmly.

From nearby he heard a choked sob and a tearful exclamation "oh Harry my love!" Ginny cried out "I know you love me but..." she threw her arms around his neck, pulled him into a passionate kiss and then hugged him tightly for a long moment.

When they drew away she rounded on her family. Putting her hands on her hips she demanded "and just what is going on here?".

Bill and Charlie looked very nervous as she glared at them.

Charlie tried a feeble attempt to answer "err...well...you see...Ginny...we...err..." Ginny's withering stare unnerved him too much and he gave up trying to answer instead falling silent.

Bill sighed "look Ginny, we were just trying to make sure that Harry was going to treat you right".

Ginny's glare intensified "I have know Harry for fifteen years and in that time he has never hurt me once!" she said holding a finger up "not once!. He loves me, cares about me and respects me. I know we're young..." she grabbed Harry's hand with hers "but we love each other and we're getting married, whether you approve or not" she declared firmly.

There were gasps all round and Harry looked at his girlfriend in horror "but...but...but..." he babbled unable to speak coherently.

"He's trying to say no we won't" Ginny told them "he's honourable like that you see. But I'm not letting his honour get in the way of this marriage. You all either consent to us getting married in three years time during the summer after I leave Hogwarts, or if you don't..." her voice became steely with determination "if you don't, I'll drag him off to the Muggle world and we'll get married without you".

When this little speech was done no one said anything for a moment. Mrs and Mrs Weasley looked shocked, Percy was sniggering behind his hand, Bill and Charlie looked like they wanted the ground to swallow them up while Fred and George looked impressed and both gave her a wink.

Eventually the silence was broken as Fred and George clapped loudly followed shortly thereafter by Percy. All three of them applauding Ginny's courage and determination.

After a while Mr Weasley spoke "well" he said "that was quite the speech Ginny" he smiled "and I think I speak for us all when I say to Harry..." he extended his hand "welcome to the family".

Harry shook the older wizards hand and found himself shaking those of Fred, George and Percy. Fred summed up for the three of them "we've got your back Harry" he said to nods from the other two.

Bill and Charlie were the last to shake Harry's hand "sorry about that Harry" said Charlie who was red in the face with embarrassment "we should have know you could be trusted".

"Yes...we should have" said Bill glaring momentarily at his younger brother. A glare which said to Harry that it had been Charlies idea all along for the wizards oath.

"No hard feelings from me" Harry told them. He smiled "actually I'm glad you care about your sister enough to say such things, I know that way she's safe if anything..." Harry stopped "well...if anything happens".

The faces of the two older wizards fell. Both knew full well what was at stake in this war and just what could happen to Harry before it was all over.

It was now Harry's turn to demand something "I want you two to promise me something" he said seriously.

The two exchanged a glance "promise what?" Charlie asked.

"I want you two to promise that if anything ever happens to me...if I fail to beat Voldemort, you'll get Ginny out of Britain and somewhere far away" he told them "because this country won't be fit to live in if I fail".

"Nothings going to happen Harry so there's no need..." Bill tried to say "there's every need!" Harry said loudly "I'm not having the girl I love being stuck under a murderous tyrant...do I have your word?" he demanded.

The two of them exchanged looks, nodded to each other and then to Harry. He then shook their hands.

Ginny who'd been out of earshot but saw the interaction walked on over "what was that all about?" she asked.

"Nothing important Gin Gin" he replied as he kept his thoughts guarded on the matter. There was no way he was letting anyone know of the deal he had made between himself, Bill and Charlie, especially not Ginny as he could well imagine the reaction. She would slap him, demand to know why he had the right to make decisions about her and then would storm off and probably not speak to him for a week.

* * *

The month of March passed by very fast for the New Marauders and especially those on the Quidditch team as Harry stepped up the training for the last Quidditch game of the season between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff which was to take place on Saturday the 5th of April.

Luckily the weather for the month was cold but dry which ensured that the Gryffindor's were able to spend much time on the Quidditch pitch getting ready.

Over the past two games the team had gained skill, experience and cohesion which made them a much better team and Harry felt even more excited for the prospects in his Seventh Year than the current Quidditch season as the obvious skill of his various team mates shone through.

The date was now Tuesday the 1st of April and it was not just any regular day. It was a very important day because today was to be, at last, the wedding of Remus Lupin and Nymphadora (don't call her that) Tonks which would take place at Marauder Manor.

When Harry woke up that morning he looked round in surprise for a moment as he tried to recall why he was in his bed at home and not in his four poster at Hogwarts.

After rubbing away the dust in his eyes and slipping on his glasses Harry realised...the wedding!.

He sat bolt upright in bed and grinned widely.

'That's why I'm home!' he thought happily.

Harry glanced over at the magical powered alarm clock on his bedside table. The blue light up screen proclaimed the time as being 06:30 am.

Harry groaned. It was too early to be up and about but something told him that if he didn't get up now he'd oversleep and then he'd have his mother shrieking in panic that he needed to hurry and would probably get pranked by his Uncles.

In order to avoid all of this he kicked back the covers, swung his legs around so they were on the floor and then stood up.

He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled it open. Inside he found his grey suit, top hat and trousers together with his red tie and white shirt hanging up ready to be put on 'not yet' he thought to himself as he didn't want to get it dirty this early in the day.

Instead, he plucked out a pair of blue denim jeans and a black t-shirt which said "I love Queen" and had a picture of the members of his favourite band Queen.

He padded across to his airing cupboard near the door and pulled out a pair of towels before grabbing his wand and holster from the bedside cabinet.

He knew he might not need his wand but he also knew from experience that it was better to be safe than sorry.

He'd been caught out in the Little Hangleton graveyard last year and had almost died due to lack of being prepared so he wasn't about to take any more chances over his safety.

He waked into the bathroom, plopped down his clothes, set his towels onto the towel rack, got undressed and stepped into the shower compartment. Once the door was slid shut he clapped revelling in the ability to turn the water on and off at will. The water came on at his exact preferred temperature and he relished the feeling of the warm water washing of all of the grime and dirty and rejuvenating him.

As he scrubbed himself up and washed himself down he sung the words of one of his favourite Queen songs "We will we will rock you". He knew his singing voice wasn't the best but when it came to Queen he couldn't help but sing.

Once his shower was over he towelled himself down thoroughly, slipped on the clean clothes, fastened his wand holster to his right arm and slipped the wand in place.

Once that was done he left the bathroom, passed by his bedside table and put on his watch.

He then exited his bedroom and found that Draco was there too "can't sleep either huh?" his brother asked with a grin "nope" replied Harry "too excited".

"Me too" said Draco as they headed for the stairs "what shall we do to pass the time till everyone gets up?".

Harry pondered for a moment "might as well do some exercises. They're bound to start getting up in half an hour so we don't have a massive amount of time".

Draco agreed and so the two boys headed into the drawing-room to work on their morning exercises including stretches, push ups, pull ups and various others designed to warm up the muscles and give them a good work out.

At around seven am Harry's prediction came true as various members of the family began to arrive downstairs for breakfast.

By the time David had slunk into the kitchen yawning and bemoaning their early start Harry and Draco's stomachs were rumbling and both decreed it would be a good idea to get some food.

"What time is the ceremony again?" Molly asked as she buttered several crumpets and added lavish amounts of marmite.

"The ceremony begins at eleven am" Lucy told her daughter before adding in amusement "and please leave some marmite for the rest of us". Molly grinned, sealed the jar up and slid it back to the middle of the breakfast table.

"The guests will arrive well before that though" said Peter wearily.

Harry knew that his Uncle Peter did not like crowds very much due to the fact that so many people used to bully him at Hogwarts when he'd been a student.

Sure enough at 9 am the guests began to arrive with their gifts and plus ones. To Harry's relief the first to arrive were the Weasleys, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, Fred, George, Percy, Ron and Ginny (Bill and Charlie had been unable to get time off).

Upon seeing their best friend and Harry seeing his girlfriend Harry and Draco took them off to the side to chat with them and enjoy the time until they needed to get changed.

After a short time Hermione and her parents arrived with the Longbottoms and both Hermione and and Neville went over to the corner in which Harry, Draco, Ron and Ginny were talking.

Everyone greeted Hermione and Neville warmly while Ron hugged and kissed his girlfriend.

Hermione had some news for them "I spoke to my parents about the marriage proposal" she told them.

Ron looked rather nervous at this "they were a bit concerned I was too young" she said "but they want to talk to you Ron".

Ron swallowed and said "alright, lets go and speak to them now then".

Hermione beamed at her boyfriend and took his hand. The two of the walked over to where Mr and Mrs Granger were talking with James and Lucy "how do you think that will go?" Neville said.

"I think it'll go well" Draco said.

"Yeah he's really grown up the past year" Harry added.

The group kept their eyes fixed on Ron, Hermione and Hermione's parents as the conversation between them began.

Ten minutes later the fiancees returned to the group. Harry noted that Hermione was beaming widely while Ron had a rather goofy grin on his face "I assume that went well then" Ginny said at the looks on their faces.

Ron seemed unable to speak so Hermione said "it turns out the only real concern my parents had was that Ron would be able to provide alongside me in terms of income".

Ron smiled at his girlfriend "I don't think there'll be a problem" he said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow and Ron clarified "I wrote a letter to my Dad a few weeks to see what he could tell me about getting a job with the Ministry and you'll never guess what!" he said happily.

"What?" the entire group asked.

Ron grinned "he's going to take me on as an assistant at the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Department when I finish Hogwarts" Ron told them "he said that Perkins the elderly wizard he works with is leaving in two years time and my Dad can't do the job alone".

"Oh Ron that's wonderful!" Hermione said enthusiastically as she hugged him tightly.

By ten o clock many of the wedding guests had arrived at the Manor. Harry and Draco said "see you in a minute" to their friends and left the drawing-room alongside their sister Molly and David, David being dragged out the room by Molly who said "stop being difficult!".

The clothes were rather fiddly meaning it was fifteen minutes before Harry exited his room and walked with his siblings back downstairs "I look stupid!" David said in irritation.

Harry couldn't argue with that and felt glad that he was old enough not to be a page boy.

When they returned to the drawing-room they saw that the Lovegoods had arrived with Luna and Draco greeting each other enthusiastically before they went off to speak to their parents about their engagement.

Much like with Ron earlier the Lovegoods only wanted to know that Draco loved their daughter and could provide for her. Of course providing for her wouldn't be a problem even if Draco hadn't had a big announcement "the Wimbourne Wasps have said they'll take me on as a reserve player if my form keeps up" he told everyone.

They were really happy for him as the Wasps were one of the best Quidditch clubs when it came to paying people and it was a job that wouldn't take up all of his time unlike another job would have done.

Ten fifty five rolled round and Peter who was best man began to usher the guests outside with help from James, Sirius, Harry and Draco.

The wedding was to take place inside a very large marquee that could seat two hundred guests which was a good thing due to the sheer number of people who had wished to attend the wedding including the former Minister of Magic Amelia Bones, Potions Master Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall.

Once everyone else was in place Remus appeared in the marquee. Harry took one look at his Uncles face and could tell the man was very worried about the wedding 'last minute nerves' Harry thought in sympathy and realised he'd probably be the same way at his wedding.

Remus walked up between the rows of seats greeting the guests he knew personally, ruffling Harry, Draco and Molly's hair as he reached the front row of seats "alright guys?" he asked kindly.

Harry marvelled at his Uncles ability to think of others all the time "it should be us asking you that" Molly said sympathetically.

"You don't need to worry Moony" Harry said "she'll be here because she loves you and you are definitely getting married".

"Harry's right Moony" said Draco "nothing is going to go wrong so there is no need to panic, ok?".

Remus smiled at them all in thanks "thanks guys, I appreciate the pep talk".

Remus walked up to the area of the marquee in front of the seats where Dumbledore currently stood ready to officiate on the ceremony in his capacity as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot.

Harry could just hear Dumbledore ask "how are you doing Remus?" in a kindly manner and hear Remus' answer "I'll be fine Albus, it's very kind of you to ask". Dumbledore smiled and then greeted Harry's Uncle Peter who joined them and gave his friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

A few moments later Peter was tapping Remus on the shoulder "Remus...look" Peter said sounding in awe.

Remus turned round to see what his friend was staring at and froze.

As the wedding march began to play his fiancee Tonks was walking up the aisle beaming widely as her father guided her along.

She looked absolutely beautiful. She was wearing a dress the colour of snow with a thin wedding veil on her head and a long train behind her being held up by Luna and Ginny who Harry blew a kiss at.

Tonks stumbled slightly as she reached Remus but her soon to be husband held her up and grinned at her causing Tonks to laugh.

David walked behind them carrying a pillow on which sat two rings. As he reached the bride and groom David stood by them looking a cross between annoyed at the outfit he was dressed in and happy about the occasion.

Once everyone was ready Dumbledore opened the ceremony "Ladies and Gentlemen" he said beaming widely "we are gathered here today to witness the union of Remus John Lupin and..." he gave an apologetic look at Tonks "Nymphadora Tonks". Dumbledore looked at them both "marriage is a state in which two people agree to give themselves to each other, body and soul for their entire lives...

The ceremony reached the wedding vows "Tonks the day we began our relationship was the happiest day of my entire life. Even going to Hogwarts didn't compare to it. I have loved you for so long and I love you even more as you fought for our relationship when I continued to act like a fool and tried to end it".

Tonks grinned.

"I promise to love you, to cherish you, to be there for you always from this day until my last day".

It was Tonks turn "Remus, I could never understand for so long just what I had done to deserve such a wonderful man as you" Remus looked embarrassed "despite my clumsiness and tendency to put my foot in my mouth you saw the real me and loved me for who I am. I love you now and I will always love you" she said emotionally "I promise I will love you, fight for you and be there by your side always and forever".

And finally it was the end of the ceremony "Remus and Tonks have stated their intention to marry and love for each other in the sight of witnesses. It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare them husband and wife together".

Every single guest rose to their feet applauding and whistling as Remus and Tonks kissed and shook hands with Dumbledore.

* * *

Four days had passed since the wonderful wedding of Remus and Tonks and it was now Saturday the 5th of April and time for the third and final Gryffindor Quidditch match which would be against Hufflepuff.

Harry felt very excited about the match as he paced up and down the changing room looking at his team "I am immensely proud of you all" he began "I know this year has been a learning curve for many of you as you have not been part of the team until now. That is why I have been so impressed by the performances from you all that have led up to this moment. This day. If...no...WHEN we win today we shall be Quidditch Cup winners once again and it isn't down to me" he said wagging his finger. He pointed each of his team mates "it is down to each and every one of you, your heart, dedication and skill have won the day for us twice already, lets go out there and show that we Gryffindor's roar loudly. Bring it in".

The seven of them placed their hands in the middle "one, two, three...GRYFFINDOR!" Harry roared and was joined by the roaring voices of his six team mates.

From the moment the team got into the air the match was an absolutely trouncing. Hufflepuff, without their top players who had left several years ago were no longer the smooth and cohesive unit they once had been and the score when the match ended had been a whopping 350 points to 20.

Needless to say there was a loud and enjoyable party afterwards in the House common room to celebrate their victory.

The celebration was cut short however as Professor McGonagall entered through the portrait hole and took Hermione aside.

A leaden feeling appeared in Harry's stomach as he saw Professor McGonagall whisper something to Hermione.

He heard her devastated scream "NO!" as she burst into heaving sobs.

They all ran over to her and Ron gathered her in his arms as she wept into his shirt.

Harry went to Professor McGonagall "it's her parents isn't it" he said simply.

Professor McGonagall looked to Hermione, sighed and nodded "I'm afraid so. It seems Vol...Voldemort wanted to send a message".

Harry felt his stomach burn in anger at Voldemort. The man...if he could even be called that was such a bloody coward!.

He also felt guilt too "and what a message to send" Harry said numbly "he only did it because she's best friends with me".

* * *

Authors Note: And so that chapter is done and we move into the last chapter of Sixth Year. Hope you all enjoyed it and if you did please make sure to review.


	54. Chapter 54

Disclaimer: Everything Potter related belongs to JK Rowling.

* * *

Authors Note: This is the final chapter of Sixth Year, after this one it will be the summer of 97'

* * *

Chapter Fifty Four: Funeral, Exams, First Battle of Hogwarts & Leaving Feast

The week between the 5th and the 12th of April was the worst Harry had felt since the murder of Neville's parents back on Halloween.

Since the moment Hermione had been informed of the death of her parents by way of the Killing Curse she had been in pieces. Even someone as strong as Hermione could not get her head around what had happened. She hadn't been speaking to anyone, she'd barely slept, barely eaten and her work had taken a nose dive. The Professors had collectively decided that she would be better off having some time to grieve and so she did not have to attend class for a while.

Neville, Ron, Draco, Ginny, Luna and Molly were all spending much of their time comforting Hermione while Harry felt consumed by guilt.

Several times in the past week the other New Marauders and Molly had tried to reach out to him, to tell him he wasn't to blame, that he couldn't have done anything about it but it didn't change anything for him. As far as he was concerned if Hermione had not been friends with him her parents would have still been alive and she wouldn't have been in her own personal hell struggling to get out.

Today was the day of the funeral which was being held in the church in Ottery St Mary. As Marauder Manor was nearest to the town Hermione had come to stay with them the night before the funeral and they would be flooing back to Hogwarts that evening.

Thankfully Harry and the others had had a breakthrough with Hermione the previous night and managed to convince her to eat dinner and to get some sleep.

As a result she looked a bit better today than the previous day even if she didn't feel better.

The night before she had actually spoken and told everyone that she wanted to conduct the eulogy for her parents.

Given that there were no other family members left save an uncle she'd never met and a distant cousin she had no relatives coming to the funeral.

As far as Harry was concerned though she was a sister to him and shortly before they were to leave the Manor he came and knocked on her door "hey" he said to her as he stood in the doorway.

Hermione turned to face him. He could tell she'd been crying as her eyes were red raw "mind if I come in?" he asked softly.

Hermione nodded. He stepped in and walked over to her "I won't ask how you're feeling" he said "because I know what the answer is. I just wanted to say I'm here for you Mione" he put a hand over hers "you are like a sister to me, you know that right?".

She nodded "which is why I spoke to my parents, aunts and uncles last night about the possibility of you coming to stay here until you and Ron get married".

Hermione's face which had been sad changed into a weak smile "thank you" she said tearfully "I'll feel much better having my friends round me".

"I figured" Harry said smiling at her.

"They left everything to me you know" she said sadly.

Harry nodded "I know Mione" he said. Ron had accompanied him to the solicitors office with his Mum who was better at blending in "the Dental Practise will be sold off obviously" she said "but they've left me the house and a lot of money. Not as much as you or Draco will have but...enough" she said.

"Can never replace them though" Harry guessed and she nodded.

"We've got to head downstairs, the cars are heading to the church soon" he said quietly.

Hermione sighed, got up from her seat and picked up the hat she'd chosen. It was wide brimmed and black.

Harry and her left the room and headed off downstairs.

When the Marauder Clan arrived at the church they found that the Weasley's, Neville and his Gran Augusta and other wizarding friends were already there waiting. A few of Hermione's parents patients were there to pay their respects as was the only Muggle family that Hermione's parents had been friendly with.

Much of the service passed over Harry though he remembered snippets such as helping to carry one of the coffins.

Halfway through the service Hermione got up to do her eulogy. Harry found it very sad but very moving at the same time.

She was halfway through it when she broke down sobbing hard behind the podium unable to carry on.

As one, the New Marauders stood, walked up the aisle between the rows of pews and took places up on the raised platform where Hermione was standing.

Ron held his girlfriend as she sobbed while Ginny, Luna, Draco and Neville also helped to comfort her.

Harry immediately knew what he needed to do. He took up the papers on which the eulogy was written and carried on from where Hermione had left off. He felt that it was the least he could do after everything.

As he read he choked up several times. Hermione had noted how they had always supported her in everything she had ever done and how they had encouraged her to live her life her own way and not to be like anyone else.

When Harry eventually finished the eulogy he joined the rest of the New Marauders in helping Hermione down from the platform and outside where the actual burial was to take place.

Hermione and many others cried as the Vicar said his words and the coffins were lowered into the cold hard earth.

Hermione, Harry, Ron and many others who had known and cared about Mr and Mrs Granger threw dirt onto the coffins as a mark of respect.

Hermione once again broke down as they exited the churchyard and made for the cars.

The wake itself passed in blur of drinking and toasts.

Harry especially felt himself get far more drunk than he really should have especially as he did not drink all that often.

That evening when the wake ended and they all returned to the Manor and thence to Hogwarts Harry was feeling were upset about everything. Right now he was sitting in front of the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room deep in thought.

The funeral had increased his feelings of guilt. Talking about the Grangers and seeing Hermione so broken.

"Your brother said you might be down here" a voice said softly.

He heard footsteps and Hermione came into view. She sat down on the sofa and stared at the cold fireplace.

He didn't say anything in response. He had no idea what **to **say. "Sorry I was born, it's all my fault" no that wouldn't help the situation.

"It's not your fault you know" Hermione said much to his surprise.

He was so astonished that he turned to look at her "how can you say that?" he questioned "it's my fault they died. My fault they were even a target".

Hermione looked at him in exasperation "you are NOT the reason my parents are dead Harry Potter!" she said sharply "there is only one person to blame for their deaths and he's the same one responsible for the loss of Neville's parents...Voldemort. Voldemort sent those Deatheaters to kill my parents not you".

"But if you weren't friends with..." Hermione held up a hand and he fell silent "no!" she hotly "I'm not having this anymore, it's not your fault. In the first place I'd have had a much harder time at Hogwarts without you and the others backing me up and in the second place I'm part of the Order of the Phoenix" she said sensibly "so there was always a chance this sort of thing would happen" she put a hand on Harry's "what you said earlier about thinking of me as a sister...I feel the same way...you're like a brother to me" she said with a smile "and I don't want my brother beating himself up over something he didn't cause and couldn't control...OK?".

Harry sighed "ok" he said "I promise I'll stop beating myself up over it" Hermione nodded in satisfaction "good, because we have a war to win and we can't afford to be over thinking things like this".

Harry smiled at her wisdom and knew she was a hundred per cent right. He would stop moping about and would take up his responsibilities.

"You're a great friend you know that right Mione" Harry said with a smile.

"I have been told a few times" she replied with a grin.

* * *

The next few months went by as spring changed to summer with the stiflingly hot weather and balmy evenings spent outside that went along with it.

As June arrived every student in the castle was a lot busier than previously due to OWL's for the Fifth Years, NEWT's for the Seventh Years and end of year exams for each of the students from the other year groups.

Exams began on the 2nd of June as did Apparation lessons which both Ron and Draco were taking.

Due to the fact that the exams for Sixth Years were much harder than those in the lower five year groups there were only a few exams for each subject per year.

For Harry his first exam of the year for Harry was Ancient Runes which took place on the Monday afternoon and for which Harry had spent the last four weeks studying very hard as he enjoyed the subject and wanted to do as well as possible. He hoped to at least get an Exceeds Expectations if not an Outstanding.

The exam was very taxing on Harry and all of those taking it including Hermione and by the time they left the Great Hall at three pm Harry felt rather exhausted. He also could feel a headache coming on.

His bad head got worse throughout the afternoon and into the early evening and by six pm it had proceeded into a full on migraine.

"Harry what's going on with you? is it another one of those headaches?" Ginny asked in concern.

Harry tried to shrug it off "I'm fine Gin Gin, no need to worry about me" he tried to say. Suddenly he collapsed and found himself to be zoning out.

He was no longer in the Gryffindor common room but was instead in a room he did not recognise at all.

The only thing he knew was that the room was richly decorated and there were many people standing around in white masks and black robes. He knew at once that it was some sort of vision.

His blood chilled as he saw who now entered the room "my dear followers" a high cold voice announced in amusement "the time is fast approaching for us to deal with three meddlesome fools and cement our rule over the Wizarding World!" the Deatheaters cheered loudly.

"My loyal and faithful follower within Hogwarts has already repaired the vanishing cabinet and we will subsequently be able to access the school and take down that old fool Dumbledore, that traitor Severus and that upstart Harry Potter!".

"When...when do we attack My Lord?" one of his followers asked sounding eager.

Voldemort laughed at his followers eagerness "we shall be launching our final operation in this war on the 16th of June. On that day this war will end".

Again the Deatheaters cheered.

Harry found himself being pulled away from the scene and he awoke with a start. He looked round at his surroundings and found to his great surprise that he was lying on the floor "what...why am I on the floor?" he asked in confusion.

Ron and Neville each took one of his hands and pulled him to his feet while Hermione stepped forward looking serious "you had a vision again didn't you" she demanded.

Harry nodded his head as he rubbed his scar which was burning hot "we need to tell Dumbledore right now" Luna said and was backed up by everyone else.

This being decided the group exited the common room by the portrait hole and headed through the castle to find the entrance to Dumbledore's private quarters.

To their disappointment they found that the entrance was not where they had expected it and it consequently took them several hours of searching to find it.

In the end they found the entrance on the Seventh Floor next to the door that led to the Room of Requirement.

They gave the new password "chocolate buttons" and the gargoyles sprang aside. The group was already scrambling onto the stairs as the gargoyles moved and they soon found themselves taking accustomed ride up to Dumbledore's quarters.

The second the stairs stopped moving they jumped off and ran full speed down the corridor towards the office.

Dumbledore didn't even have time to say come in before the doors opened and the New Marauders piled into the office.

The old wizard looked puzzled and also a little alarmed at their intrusion no doubt due more to the manner of their appearance than their appearance itself.

Dumbledore stood up from his seat and walked round his desk "I imagine what you have to say is very important to burst in here at such an hour" he said without any amusement.

Harry stepped forward "Professor something very unpleasant just happened to me back in the Gryffindor common room.

"Very well Harry please explain" Dumbledore replied and then stayed politely silent.

Harry wasted no time launching into his explanation of what had happened "I've had a bad headache since this afternoon you see" he said "but this evening began to get worse and worse and then when we were in the common room a few hours ago I collapsed" he told the old wizard "one moment I was standing up talking and the next I blacked out and must have fallen to the floor".

"He did Professor" Ginny said sounding concerned "it was awful. I thought he was having a seizure when he began thrashing about".

"I was having a vision Professor" Harry explained "I assume it was because of my being a Horcrux but whatever the reason I saw a group of Deatheaters gathered in a finely decorated room...then Voldemort showed up".

Dumbledore looked alarmed "did he notice you?" he asked sounding worried.

Harry shook his head "thankfully no" he replied "as such I was able to observe him speaking to his minions. He informed them that the vanishing cabinet has been repaired ahead of schedule".

Now Dumbledore looked even more alarmed "did he say anything else?" he pressed Harry for answers.

"Yes" said Harry "he told them that with the vanishing cabinet already having been repaired they would begin their attack earlier than the 30th of June. It's now going to be the 16th of June instead".

"This changes everything!" Dumbledore exclaimed "I must call a meeting of the full Order tonight. No delays can be countenanced. We need everyone's opinions and advice and must form a strategy to be ready as two weeks is not much time".

Harry was about to ask if they would be attending when Dumbledore spared him the trouble "you will attend of course Harry as it is your information and given that the rest of you are full Order members it is only fair you be in attendance and able to give your thoughts".

Despite the meeting being called at very short notice by the Headmaster most of the Order was able to attend the meeting which was held in the Room of Requirement to fit everyone in.

The vast majority of the Order members were shocked and all were horrified that the assault date had been moved forward as it ensured less of them would be available for the defence.

Several of them however agreed to stay behind in the castle from that night onwards with, amongst them, Alastor Moody being the most prominent.

Harry grinned at this bit of news knowing just how tough and resourceful his former Professor actually was.

* * *

The 16th of June arrived. That morning Harry got up with a leaden feeling in his stomach. Today would be the day of the assault on the castle, the attempt to kill Harry, take the prophecy and eliminate Dumbledore and Snape.

It had been decided that Dumbledore and Snape would be up on the top of the Astronomy Tower when the attack began. The idea being that Voldemort would be foolish enough to divert most of his small Deatheater assault force to face the two tough Professors and would thus not be there to help Voldemort.

Harry was to face Voldemort with the prophecy orb in hand and would, or so the plan went, smash it before Voldemort could summon it. Harry would then leave himself open to the Killing Curse and then be forever rid of the Horcrux and his hideous scar.

All throughout that day Harry and the rest of the New Marauders felt very tense in anticipation of the fighting to come.

Luckily for them all as six pm drew near and the Deatheaters prepared to enter Hogwarts through Borgin and Burkes Harry and others were able to administer the luck potion Felix Felicis to most of those within the castle with only Alastor Moody, Professor Snape and Dumbledore declining all of them in the belief that if their years of experience and skill in duelling could not save them then they did not deserve to survive.

At five thirty Harry took up position under his invisibility cloak in the Seventh Floor corridor which contained the Room of Requirement.

It had been agreed in advance that the way would be left clear by the Hogwarts defenders for the Deatheaters to reach Dumbledore and Snape before said Deatheaters would be surrounded and forced to surrender, killed or would flee.

"I'm glad we've got this luck potion. Any idea how long it lasts?" Molly asked her brother. Harry shook his head and then realised she couldn't see him "no" he said simply "but the last batch I had lasted for two hours so it should last long enough" his sister grabbed him and hugged him tearfully "you come back to us you big fool" she said.

"As if you could keep me down" he joked.

He was then left on his own in the corridor.

Six pm rolled round and Harry watched as Theodore Nott entered the Room of Requirement 'goddamn traitor' he thought angrily 'he'll get his in the end for this'.

Five minutes after he'd entered Nott emerged though Harry could see nothing else as the entire corridor went black. He heard voices however "where are the targets?" a rough voice said "just follow me and I'll take you all up there" Nott hissed.

The corridor cleared of smoke and Harry saw that it was empty of anyone else except him "Instant Darkness powder" he muttered to himself "clever". He had to admit it was clever even though he despised them for what they were doing in his beloved castle.

The next thing Harry saw was a figure in dark robes wearing sandals and carrying a long wand. The figure pulled his hood down to reveal the snake like face of Lord Voldemort who grinned evilly "where is the little brat?" he hissed to himself.

Harry smirked and replied casually "sense of smell deserting you there Snake Face?". Voldemort whipped round in shock and continued to stare around the corridor "Potter!" he hissed angrily "where are you boy, I want to see when you die!".

Harry chose the very moment that Voldemort turned his head again. He whipped off the cloak, tossed it aside and said "looking for me Tom?".

"Don't call me that!" Voldemort yelled as he lost his usual calm.

Harry smirked as the wizard caught sight of him "there you are" he said triumphantly "and you have the prophecy!". Voldemort aimed his wand in Harry's direction but before he could call out Harry shouted "don't think so Voldy!" and threw the orb hard onto the floor "nooooo!" Voldemort screamed in fury as the orb shattered into countless pieces and drifted off into the ether "I'm going to enjoy killing you boy!".

"Take your best shot Snake Face!" Harry shouted.

"Argh!" Voldemort bellowed in rage as he aimed his wand at Harry "Avada Kedavra!". The evil wizard was puzzled by the emotion on the boys face until he saw to his horror just what Harry had in his hand "not again!" he yelled. Harry waved as the spell hit him full force.

There was loud bang and Harry found himself just gone. He was floating in a very odd place. It was Kings Cross Station "what am I doing here?" he muttered to himself in confusion "Harry" said a soft voice from behind him. He whipped round and found himself staring at his birth mother Lily "Mum!" he said in amazement "where am I?".

She smiled as she walked over to him "where would you say you are Harry?" she asked him.

"Well...it...it looks like...Kings Cross Station" he said in puzzlement "only a lot cleaner...and no trains".

Lily looked round "it does doesn't it" she said beaming at him "walk with me my son" she said.

Harry immediately began to follow her and they walked along the platform.

After a short time they stopped by a bench and Lily bent down to look beneath it. Harry bent down too and peered under "oh my god!" he shouted as he recoiled in horror "what is that thing Mum?" he asked feeling shocked.

"That my son, is something beyond our help. It is the piece of Voldemort's soul that was in your body until moments ago when Voldemort hit you with the Killing Curse".

"You mean it worked?" Harry inquired hopefully. His mother smiled and nodded "indeed yes my darling boy" she said "but now you have a decision to make".

"Stay here or go back you mean?" Harry guessed right away. His mother beamed at his intelligence "precisely my darling" she said.

Harry gazed at her "as much as I would love to get to know you more Mum I can't stay".

His mother smiled "I understand completely my darling" she said "you have family, friends and a fiancee down there waiting for you, you get back to them and do me a favour Harry, tell your father to be less reckless. I know he's been going out on a raids a lot lately".

Harry grinned "I'll tell him Mum" he replied "I love you".

"I love too baby, I'll see you again one day" she promised.

Harry felt himself falling through the fluffy clouds and all of a sudden he woke up with a start "what..where..." he stammered before looking round and realising he was still in the corridor near the Room of Requirement. He saw that there was no Voldemort and surmised that having been hurt he had fled.

"Where is everyone?" he asked himself only to get the question moments later as several Deatheaters ran past with Nott and Bellatrix Lestrange in the lead "what..." he mumbled. He touched a hand to his head and to his astonishment found it was completely smooth. The identifiable lightning bolt scar that he had had for fifteen years was gone just like that and in it's place was purely smooth skin, no scarring.

* * *

The Astronomy Tower five minutes before Harry woke up:

"Are you sure this will work Albus?" Severus questioned as the old wizard gazed out into the unusually grey sky "I am certain that we will save him Severus and that our distraction shall prove successful".

Severus was still sceptical but said nothing else as they waited.

"I can hear footsteps, get out of sight Severus, now" Dumbledore instructed. Severus sighed. He knew better than to argue and so moved to a hiding spot nearby.

A few moments later a familiar voice said "if it isn't the old fool running this school into the ground".

"Hello Theodore" Dumbledore replied calmly "and how can I help you this evening?" he asked placidly.

"Don't play me for an idiot Dumbledore" Nott hissed angrily "you die tonight old man".

Severus saw his friend and boss smile at these words and reply "if you truly wanted me dead Nott you would have tried harder throughout the year as your attempts plainly smack of not wanting to succeed".

"Shut up!" shouted Nott.

"If you wanted me dead my boy you would use the Killing Curse now and simply finish me off. I will not fight back".

"Then you'll die!, Expeliarmus!" Nott shouted. The long thin wand sailed out of Dumbledore's hands and into Nott's free one.

"Impressive" Dumbledore murmured "but you still won't kill me. Theodore I can protect you. No matter what your family has done you are still an innocent".

"You don't understand!" Nott yelled in despair. He teared up "I have to kill you and my Head of House or I'm dead! the Dark Lord does not tolerate failure!".

"Let us finish it then" Dumbledore declared. Still Nott made no move to kill the old wizard and Severus realised that the boy was not bad, just in a no win situation. He really felt for him as he remembered what that was like.

Suddenly there were more voices on top of the Astronomy Tower and several people appeared "good work Theodore!" Bellatrix Lestrange declared joyfully.

"Bellatrix, Amycus, Alecto" Dumbledore said coolly to each of them "to what do I owe the pleasure?".

"Love to chat Albus" Bellatrix said sneeringly "but I'm afraid for you there is no more time left" she cackled with mad laughter that made Severus want to throttle her.

"Kill him now boy!" Bellatrix hissed "he's disarmed, finish him!".

"He won't do it he's a coward" Amycus scoffed "leave it to me" Severus watched as the rough man stepped forward and brandished his wand.

"No" said a new and even more familiar voice coldly "this one...is mine". The figure appeared and Severus was floored.

It was Cedric Diggory. There were rumours that he was now completely in with the Deatheaters but Severus did not believe it. He had been such a caring boy.

Evidently Dumbledore was shocked to see Cedric too as he stared at the boy open mouthed before closing his mouth "Mr Diggory" he said calmly "why are you with these...people?".

Cedric laughed. It was not his old laugh. Happy and mirthful but one full of hatred, malice and cruelty. Severus realised in that moment that the old Cedric Diggory was truly dead.

"I am here you old fool because these are my people now!" Cedric said venomously "and I shall end you just as I ended my fool and blood traitor of a father!".

Now Severus was really shocked. He had actually done it. He had actually killed his own father on Voldemort's orders! 'Albus run!' he wanted to say.

He saw Diggory take aim with his wand and knew instinctively what was to happen next.

"Avada Kedavra!" Diggory roared.

The green light raced towards Dumbledore "nooooo!" Severus yelled in horror as he raced from his hiding place and ducked various spells.

He reached his friend just in time and shoved him roughly out of the way. A second later the spell hit him full on in the chest. His last thought before he died was that he had repented.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore lay on the floor of the Astronomy Tower and watched in despair as his protege, colleague and friend began to tumble backwards and out of sight over the edge of the tower.

He had seen the sickly green light. He knew even without checking, that his friend was dead "enough!" he roared.

As he stood up a glowing light surrounded him as his full fury was unleashed "lets get out of here!" Alecto!" yelled in terror as the group began to flee for their lives.

Most of them managed to escape including Diggory but Amycus tripped over the hem of his robes and fell on the stairs ensuring that Albus could catch him "you killed my friend!" Dumbledore bellowed in righteous rage.

"No please!" Amycus begged. Albus Dumbledore hit the Deatheater with spell after spell and began to call up the most dark spell in existence "Avada..." but he stopped himself as a voice whispered in his head urgently "no Albus do not do this!" it was the voice of Severus Snape. Albus lowered his wand breathing heavily. He then called forth thick ropes that bound the Deatheater and stood over him as he heard the sounds of battle far below.

* * *

Back to the present moment:

As Harry stood in the corridor he could hear the sounds of battle raging throughout the castle and decided to race into the action.

He saw that the luck potion was in full effect as his friends and family and other Hogwarts defenders were totally fine and even seemed to have the upper hand.

His focus was on Cedric Diggory, Theodore Nott and a few other Deatheaters who were running through the corridors.

As he pursued them he hit spell after spell. One them fell to his blasting hex and lay still while the others reached the doors to the grounds and fled through them.

Harry pursued them out into the grounds and towards Hagrids cabin as a voice said "Uncle Severus is dead Harry" it was his brother over their mental link.

It gave Harry momentary pause as the grief hit him. He made the choice to pursue Nott and the others but the pause had given them a good head start "come back you cowards!" he roared "you killed my uncle, I'll kill you all!" he hit the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix who fell writhing in agony.

He was five feet from her before Diggory whipped round and shouted "Bombarda!" Harry was forced to duck and roll and by the time he regained his feet the Deatheaters including Bellatrix were fleeing to the woods.

Harry gave up the chase and collapsed on the ground only to be grabbed by strong arms. He numbly recognised the large beard and weather beaten face of his friend Hagrid but was too weary to speak instead letting himself be carried.

Eventually they came to a stop as Harry dimly registered a crowd of people standing around. Many looked upset, others angry.

Harry saw the body on the ground. The long black hair, the unseeing eyes. It was his Uncle Sev. He rolled at once out of Hagrids grasp, ducked attempts to pull him back and ran to where his Uncle lay.

He dropped to his knees feeling his heart bursting with pain as he began weep. He was joined by his fellow siblings who also wept over their virtual Uncle and his untimely loss.

The three of them were joined by man of the students from Slytherin and other Houses for Severus Snape had been a great teacher, a redeemed man. One of the best.

The last person to arrive on the scene was Professor Dumbledore. Gone was his fury for the moment. In it's place was sadness. A very big hole existed now due to the loss of his friend and protege. He had hoped that one day Severus Snape would succeed him as Headmaster but now, sadly, that was not to be.

Professor Dumbledore raised his wand in salute of the late Potions Master and was joined by many others within the school, some friends, some students, some colleagues. All agreed he'd been the finest Potions Master the school had seen in it's long distinguished history.

The next few days were very hard for Harry, his siblings and indeed most of Hogwarts as the pain of losing one of their own was very great.

Harry felt immensely proud of his Uncle though as he had learned from a sad Dumbledore that his Uncle Sev had pushed Dumbledore out of the way of a Killing Curse meant for him ensuring that Dumbledore lived.

The funeral was held on Saturday the 21st of June inside the Hogwarts grounds on the shores of the Black Lake as Severus Snape one of Hogwarts longest serving and most respected Potions Masters was to be buried on a small island in the lakes centre because, as Filius Flitwick declared "he deserves to lay in rest at Hogwarts" no one disagreed with the sentiment.

The funeral was very hard for Harry and all those of who had Severus Snape best. Many stood up to give a eulogy including all four Marauders, Professors Dumbledore, Flitwick, Sprout and McGonagall, Draco and Harry himself who broke down halfway through his speech which was finished off by Hermione and Ron.

"I can't believe he's gone" said Ron as the seven New Marauders and Molly lounged round by the Black Lake almost a week later.

"Me neither" said Neville "it's...weird you know. He's been there ever since we came here and even before for you guys" he said this last part to Harry, Molly and Draco who all nodded in agreement. Harry didn't say anything.

"I wonder who will take over his job?" Luna mused picking idly at some grass.

Harry shrugged. It didn't much matter to him right now who took the job. He just wanted to get his hands on that bastard Diggory. He was sure Diggory had been the one to kill Uncle Sev and he wanted revenge.

"You don't suppose Voldemort's going to attack Hogwarts do you?" Hermione asked sounding worried.

Harry shook his head "not yet he won't. Some day yeah. But not yet. He's got to recover for a few months from accidentally destroying his Horcrux" he unconsciously felt the smooth skin of his forehead where only a week before there had been a distinctive lightning bolt shaped scar.

While it was odd for it to be gone after so long he was very relieved as he knew the war would only get more intense from now on and he could not afford to stand out to the Deatheaters or Voldemort's other dark minions if he was to reach the final battle, the final confrontation with the dark wizard and finish things one way or another.

That very evening was the Leaving Feast and unlike the vibrant happy atmosphere of earlier years including last year, this years feast was very solemn indeed. By mutual agreement of every House the House Cup was abandoned for that year as to the vast majority it no longer held any importance or certainly it held less importance than inter-house unity.

Professor Dumbledore stood up to speak and the hall that had been awash with chatter fell silent "my friends, my colleagues, my students" he began "Hogwarts has suffered this year a very staggering loss. Professor Severus Snape was a friend to many, a colleague and one of the brightest minds in the Wizarding World. At one point he fell into darkness but pulled himself out and saved my life a few weeks ago from certain death. I therefore have only this to say to each and every one of you, remain vigilant, remain strong and fight unceasingly against the forces of darkness!".

The Great Hall roared it's approval and the speech ended.

"Things are going to get worse aren't they?" Ginny said sadly.

Harry could only nod. He had a feeling that Voldemort was going to make a move, a statement somewhere and when he did it would be even worse than most could imagine.


	55. Chapter 55

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all

* * *

Chapter Fifty Five: Summer of 97'

Harry Potter lay on his back on his bed deep in thought about the events of the past year.

He and his siblings had been back at Marauder Manor now for just over four weeks. It had been well over a month since the death of Severus Snape who had been like an Uncle to all three of them as well as their younger brother David and all four of them had felt the lost most keenly.

Harry's mind went back to that evening a month ago when the traitorous little rat Theodore Nott led a group of Deatheaters and Voldemort himself into the castle via a vanishing cabinet.

While battle had raged on the Astronomy Tower and throughout much of Hogwarts the Felix Felicis had done it's sterling work and kept safe all those who had drank it.

Harry had faced down the most evil dark wizard in a century. Perhaps even the most evil dark wizard since Salazar Slytherin himself.

He smiled briefly as he recalled taunting Voldemort riling him up and then smashing the prophecy on the floor of the Seventh Floor corridor as a furious Voldemort let out a scream of rage and threw the Killing Curse at him.

He remembered the little wave he gave to Voldemort who seemed to realise far too late that Harry had the Resurrection Stone and would thus come back.

Harry had spent what seemed a long time in between the worlds as he once again met his Mother Lily and spoke to her about what had happened. She showed him what he took to be the most ugly baby ever only for her to explain that it was not a baby but rather the fragment of Voldemort's soul that had existed within him as a Horcrux and was now gone forever unable to cause any more problems for Harry.

Harry brushed his hand over his forehead for a moment as he still marvelled in the smoothness of the skin where once there had been a rough lightning bolt shaped scar standing out distinctively on his forehead.

He revelled in the fact that from now on no one would ever flick their eyes up to his scar again. It would also be useful when going after Deatheaters and other dark beings when fighting the war as he would be able to disguise himself without that damnable scar making him stick out like a sore thumb.

Today of course was a very big day for Harry it was his 17th birthday, the day in the life of every young witch or wizard where they are considered an adult. From now on Harry would have no trace on him from the Ministry, he could learn to Apparate and would legally be able to use magic anywhere he liked provided of course he didn't do it in front of Muggles.

If Harry was completely honest with himself though he was struggling to enjoy his day and had refused a large party that was to have been held to celebrate his becoming a man.

In the end it would only be a small party attended by himself, his family and his friends.

He picked up the newspaper from the floor and read the top story again "Muggle village destroyed by dark wizards".

He flipped the page and began to read "just yesterday it was announced by the Ministry of Magic that another Muggle village had been attacked by Deatheaters and had been raised to the ground. The Muggle authorities though baffled believe the cause to be flammable materials. No one survived the blaze". Harry shivered at the headline and flipped the page.

The next article was to do with Hogwarts and the Defence Against the Dark Arts job "Who will replace Severus Snape?" the headline asked loudly.

He continued to read "over a month ago dark wizards led by Lord Voldemort himself stormed Hogwarts. Many students and staff were attacked but fought back and rather miraculously only Professor Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin House and Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher was killed in the assault. Since then the post of Defence teacher has been left open and there is still no word from Headmaster Dumbledore on who will take up the post. It is of course very difficult to find suitable teachers for the post due to how unfortunate most applicants have ended up when performing the role. It remains to be seen if anyone will now agree to take on such a dangerous job".

Harry sighed and put the paper down.

He supposed he may as well go down to breakfast though he did not feel at all hungry today.

He grabbed his wand from the bedside table, opened his door and headed off downstairs.

When he entered the kitchen twelve voices all cried out at once "surprise! happy birthday!" and Harry looked round the kitchen to find several decorations strung up and his whole family including Hermione standing near the kitchen table.

He began to feel better about the day and felt a grin forming on his face. Trust his family to be able to drag him out of this sombre mood he'd been in.

As he glanced at the kitchen table he saw that his favourite breakfast foods of a full English and a plate of pancakes with golden syrup had been laid out.

He was guided over to a chair by Hermione and one side and Draco on the other and was encouraged to eat.

"Thanks so much guys" he said gratefully to everyone who waved it away as something anyone would have done.

Tonks even managed to make Harry and the others laugh by morphing her face a number of times.

Harry was nearly finished with his delicious breakfast when there came a loud tapping at the window.

Everyone looked over to it and saw an barn owl looking rather impatient and tired standing on the window ledge. Harry knew it was one of the Hogwarts owls that both delivered official letters and post for students who did not have an owl of their own.

Molly hurried over and unlatched the window allowing the owl to soar into the room and swoop down to the table dropping not three but four letters.

Harry picked them up and sorted through them. Sure enough he saw his name on one and the name's of Draco and Molly on the other two. He handed them their letters, put his down and looked at the name on the remaining envelope. He frowned "Wormtail" he said.

"Yeah Harry?" Peter asked as he crunched some toast in his mouth "there's a letter here for you from Hogwarts" Harry said in confusion.

Peter frowned "wonder what that can be about?" he murmured as Harry handed it over.

Peter tore open the envelope, pulled the letter out and unfolded it. After a few moments he stopped reading and just openly gaped at the letter "Albus wants me to take up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher in September" he told them all in amazement "he asked me to meet him in a few hours time to discuss it".

"No!" Harry shouted as he jumped up. Everyone was startled by the outburst and stared at him "no!" Harry repeated "that job is bad news Uncle Wormy. You can't take it".

"Oh come on Harry it's just superstition and rumours" Hermione said.

"Is it?" Harry said irritably "alright then, what about all the Professors who've died?".

"Bad luck" said Hermione.

"The one's who've had to resign for one reason or another?" he asked.

"Life getting in the way" she answered reasonably.

Harry was furious "you...you can't take it...please Wormtail" he pleaded.

His Uncle sighed "Dumbledore needs me. He can't ask your Dad because he's Head Auror and can't ask Padfoot for a similar reason and he can't ask Moony because people now know he's a Werewolf".

"There must be someone else!" Harry shouted "you can't be the only one".

His Uncle shook his head "I'm afraid I am" he said "and I've already decided I'm taking the job if the pay is right" with that he stood up and left the kitchen "must make myself presentable, excuse me everyone" he said as he left the kitchen.

Harry sighed and picked up his envelope. It rattled a bit and he frowned "what on earth?" he said aloud as he opened it.

He pulled out the usual letter detailing book lists and supplies and was surprised when something solid fell from the envelope and onto the table.

He stared down at it and felt his eyes widen as he saw just what it was. It was a silver badge with the words "Head Boy" written on it.

He couldn't believe it. He picked up the badge and just stared at. Him? Head Boy? after all the pranks he'd pulled? all the detentions and trouble? there must be some mistake.

He unfolded the letter and began to read "Dear Mr Potter" it began "please find enclosed in this letter the list of your books and supplies needed for your final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry".

He read on "In addition to this list myself and Professor Dumbledore have made our decision together with the other Heads of House on just who will be Head Boy and Head Girl this year. The Head Girl has been chosen as Miss Daphne Greengrass of Slytherin".

Harry was not surprised by this choice as Daphne was intelligent, caring and would do the position justice. He read on "the Head Boy for this year will be none other than yourself Harry Potter. Congratulations Mr Potter I am sure you will do the position justice.

Yours Sincerely

Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry".

Harry dropped the letter onto the table. He felt stunned. It was no joke. No mistake. He had indeed been named Head Boy for Hogwarts this year.

"Is something up son?" James asked his son in concern. Harry who was still struggling to wrap his head round it handed over the letter which his father read.

"This is amazing news Harry, congratulations!" his father exclaimed happily as he passed the letter along and sprang from his seat to give his son a hug.

Eventually everyone had read the letter and congratulated him on the excellent news. Just as the House Elves and several residents of the Manor began to wash up the breakfast things there came another tapping at the window.

No one had expected this and so for a moment they just looked at the window. There was a dark grey owl standing on the window ledge looking rather annoyed at them all.

Remus who was standing by the sink, opened the window to admit the owl which soared in, dropped a letter onto the table and left.

Harry saw that it was addressed collectively to the Marauder Clan and realised at once what it must be. They had already been to a will reading for Severus Snape and had been told that his money such as it was was to be split between Hogwarts and the Marauder Clan or rather it would once the death duty had been paid.

In addition to this all of Severus Snape's personal effects and the house and it's contents at Spinner's End had been left to Harry, Draco, Molly and David collectively to decide what they wished to do with the house.

Harry had never seen it before but he had heard Uncle Severus talk about it several times and knew the area was rather desolate, not the place someone would wish to live.

On the other hand of course it would make it a good place to get away from prying eyes such as the Daily Prophet or others and Harry pondered buying the shares of the house from the others and moving himself and Ginny in when they got married as there was no further room at the Manor.

"It's addressed to us all" Harry told everyone as they stared at the envelope "well open it up and see what it says then Harry" his Aunt Janice said as she moved to read over his shoulder.

Harry tore open the envelope, unfolded the letter and read. It turned out to be the full deeds to the house at Spinner's End, the key to Severus' vault at Gringott's and a personal letter from the man himself which read:

Dear Marauder Clan,

if you are reading this letter then I am sadly no more. I made many mistakes in my life but I believe that the worst one I made was informing Voldemort of the prophecy. I regretted informing him immediately and knew I could never make up for such foolishness. I can only hope that I died a death worthy of me and that you have or will come to forgive me. I leave all my worldly possessions to you in the hope that it will atone in some way.

Faithfully Yours

Severus Snape

By the time Harry had finished reading, he had tears in his eyes "that poor man" he sniffed "he had no idea when he wrote this if we'd truly forgiven him".

"The man died a hero" said Sirius as he put a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"Absolutely" said James "he made mistakes in his life but after your mother died he began to repent and I think he never stopped".

That afternoon the few guests attending Harry's birthday party arrived. The guests were Ron, Ginny and their parents, Luna and her parents, Neville and his formidable Grandmother Augusta, Professor Albus Dumbledore and Hagrid.

Harry had a great birthday in spite of the dreadful news as of late and danced a lot, drank a lot, ate a lot and forgot for a while about the destiny hovering over his head.

Late into the party he was joined by the rest of the New Marauders who grinned at him, slapped on the back and joked with him. Ron asked "so what's it like it eh, without the trace?".

"I feel completely free" Harry exclaimed happily "I can finally do magic wherever I want and the Ministry won't tell me off!".

"Good thing too" said Neville who'd had his birthday the previous day "we need as many of us as possible being able to defend ourselves, never know what could happen these days".

* * *

A few days later on the 5th of August another momentous event was taking place at a house just over the hill with which the entire Marauder Clan were very familiar. Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour were getting married in the back yard of The Burrow in a ceremony exactly like that of Remus and Tonks.

Harry and the Marauder Clan were already at The Burrow as the day of the wedding arrived in order to help get everything ready.

Harry wasn't complaining as it gave him more time to spend with Ginny and enabled them to hold several kissing sessions.

That morning sometime before the ceremony was to be held Harry found himself using magic outside for the first time in his life as he helped several of the Weasleys and a few other wizards and witches put up the massive marquee in which the ceremony and reception were to be held that afternoon at mid-day.

Harry had been thrilled to be asked and even more thrilled he'd been able to do it competently.

As mid-day rolled around all of the guests had finally arrived and were waiting in the large marquee while various Weasleys helped get them into seats so the ceremony could begin.

Harry had just finished shaking hands with Mr and Mrs Delacour and could see that Fleur and Gabrielle definitely took after their mother who had a shock of blonde hair and a broad smile as she kissed both his cheeks.

Harry had been hugged as well by a taller and older Gabrielle who had greeted him enthusiastically.

As the piano began to play the traditional wedding music Harry stood up from his seat in the second row with the other Marauders and watched as Fleur walked up the aisle with her father holding her arm.

She was beaming widely and looked absolutely radiant. Harry was in love with Ginny and there no other girl for him but even he could see just how beautiful Fleur really was.

In a matter of moments Fleur had reached Bill and the ceremony began with Dumbledore reciting the words just as he had for Remus and Tonks wedding back in April.

Once the ceremony was over and the bride duly kissed the entire gathering of guests broke into applause and cheers.

The happy couple received the congratulations of everyone as they made their way down the aisle and out of the marquee.

They would wait somewhere for a short while the tent was rearranged for the wedding reception "Harry" said Mr Weasley "would you mind helping me move these chairs out of the way".

Harry beamed at being asked to do such a thing "of course I'll help Mr Weasley".

Mr Weasley chuckled "you're seventeen now Harry, you're a man, I don't think there's any need to call me Mr Weasley anymore".

Harry was surprised. He'd not expected to be able to start calling adults by their first name's already "ok then...Arthur" he replied. The two of them laughed and set to work with the help of a few others.

In fifteen minutes the entire marquee had been rearranged, food and drink laid out on the tables and table placings set.

The newly married couple were brought back into the marquee and both seemed to marvel at the transformation it had undergone from wedding service venue to wedding reception venue.

They took their place of honour at the very centre of the top table and were joined by their immediate family which ranged itself out on either side.

Many speeches were made by Fleur, Bill, Charlie who was Bill's best man, Fred and George, Ron, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, the Delacour's and others.

Once all of the speeches were over and all toasts made everyone began to tuck in to the marvellous food and drink.

Everyone was busy drinking, eating, talking and dancing when something appeared. Something that only ever appeared when something very bad had happened.

It was a Patronus in the shape of a Lynx. From the times Kingsley had demonstrated it at the Manor for Harry and the others Harry recognised it instantly. It was obvious that many others did too given their stunned reaction to seeing it. The voice of Kingsley began to speak and it's words were the sound of disaster "the Ministry of Magic has fallen" it boomed "Minister Fudge is dead. Deatheaters and Dementors are on their way, you must escape now".

Predictably the entire gathering of people began to panic. Most of those who were not close family or friends of the Weasleys began to Disapparate while making hurried excuses.

There were still many left when Dumbledore took out his wand, tapped it, muttered "Sonorous" and boomed "calm down!".

The many people still in the marquee began to calm down at these words "now then, anyone in the Order or part of the Ministry please stay here with me as we will form a rear guard, the rest of you Apparate to the gates of Hogwarts, the wards will recognise you as a friend and let you in".

It was a mark of how highly respected Dumbledore was that everyone snapped to his order straight away.

Harry managed to reach his Dad as order was restored "Dad what do we do?".

His Dad looked very serious "you and Draco need to take your sister and younger brother to Grimmauld Place" he told Harry "wait for us there while we deal with these scum that are coming for us".

Harry was about to argue that he was old enough to fight until he realised that wasn't why he was being sent away. it was genuinely that his Dad was worried for David and Molly "Sirius, Remus, Janice, Celia and Lucy will take you" James explained.

Harry nodded and scanned the marquee for his siblings. Much to his relief he found his twin over in a corner of the marquee alongside Molly as the two of them managed to calm David down.

"Dad says we need to get Molly and David to Grimmauld Place. Even our house might not be safe" he told his brother in a whisper. Draco nodded.

They were soon joined by their family members who would apparate them to Grimmauld Place.

And it seemed the Apparation came just in time as masked and robed witches and wizards burst into the marquee and began firing off shots.

The Aurors and Order members forming the rearguard began to fire back holding their opponents off.

The last Harry saw of his Dad, Uncle Peter, Alastor Moody and several others was them battling with various opponents.

He took his Mum's arm as did Molly and the three of them spun round and round through space before landing on tarmac.

Harry looked round and sighed in relief at the sight of Grimmauld Place. He may not like it here but at least the Deatheaters couldn't get them and it would be a safe place to hole up for the time being.

The group crossed the road and Sirius took out a piece of parchment which he looked at, he showed the others who saw it too and then it was destroyed.

Soon Number 12 Grimmauld Place emerged and the group of witches and wizards went inside.

The weary group were halfway down the hallway when a cacophony of sound started up from the place where Sirius' mothers portrait hung. After a few moments Sirius yelled "shut up you old bag!" and managed to yank the hangings shut.

The group trooped into a space drawing-room and sat down on the various sofa's and armchairs as they all worried and waited for news.

After a few minutes the front door went. Sirius and Remus exited the room telling them to get their wands ready.

They came back a few moments later with four very welcome faces, Bill Weasley and his younger siblings Ron and Ginny plus Hermione and Bill's new wife Fleur.

The greetings were very enthusiatic, especially between Harry and Ginny as the fiancees murmured sweet nothings to each other and assured each other they were okay.

Fleur told them that her sister and parents had managed to escape back to France just in time.

"What's happening at The Burrow?" Remus asked in his usual calm voice.

"Last I saw there was a running battle between Aurors and Order members on one side and Deatheaters on the other" said Bill as he sat down.

Harry couldn't help but worry about his Dad and Uncle who were there fighting as were Mr and Mrs Weasley, Percy, Charlie, Fred, George, the Lovegoods and Alastor Moody to name just a few to be concerned about.

As time went on more people began to arrive at Grimmauld Place. The next two to turn up were Fred and George Weasley followed by Xenophilius Lovegood and his daughter Luna who tearfully told them her mother had been killed by Bellatrix Lestrange.

Neville also turned up with his formidable Grandmother informing them that Elphias Doge and Dedalus Diggle were both dead.

Next came Mr and Mrs Weasley alongside their son Percy. All them looked exhausted and were sporting cuts and bruises.

Mr and Mrs Weasley couldn't seem to talk and Harry guessed that both were in shock. Percy spoke for the three of them and he was both angry and upset "our home" he said "it's gone, the Deatheaters set it on fire!".

He then revealed that he'd managed to get all of Ginny and Ron's school things out of there before the house went up in flames but told them that everything else was gone.

Finally they were all joined by Tonks, James, Peter and Dumbledore. Harry hugged each one of them even Dumbledore such was his joy at seeing them still in the land of the living.

"I have much bad news I'm afraid but also some good" he informed them "the bad news first is that The Burrow has been burned down and a number of Aurors and Order members are dead. Among them Alastor Moody our great friend who was killed by three Deatheaters".

"Bloody cowards!" Bill said fiercely and was joined by the others.

"The other news I have which is good is that many Ministry employees including much of the Auror Squad plus many Department Heads and Amelia Bones escaped the Ministry of Magic and have as of right now gone to Hogwarts. Minerva is as we speak helping them get settled in the new Ministry buildings established for this very eventuality. We have also managed to spirit away a lot of the galleons the Ministry had kept safe and as a result the Deatheaters have really only seized a building rather than the Ministry which will work on from Hogwarts".

He looked round at them seriously "there is an issue however. Big issue. And that is that we have no Minister of Magic after the murder of Minister Fudge. We therefore must choose a new Minister. One who people will support and it must be a legitimate vote of the Wizengamot".

"You're the ideal choice" said Arthur Weasley speaking for the first time since arriving.

Many others nodded in agreement.

Dumbledore sighed "it is time you all knew my past and why I cannot be trusted as Minister whether temporary or not" he said to them.

Everyone in the room perked up at this news and Dumbledore began explain.

Once he was done everyone save for Harry was floored by the revelation "but that was decades ago" said Sirius "surely...".

"No Sirius" Dumbledore said firmly "I am not a good choice and if nominated I will refuse to stand. It must be someone trustworthy".

"There's only one wizarding family that's old enough, has enough support and is on our side that should have someone nominated" Dumbledore declared as he stared at James.

Harry's Dad gaped at him "me!" he exclaimed "but I don't know anything about politics!. I don't even like politics!".

"Even better" said Dumbledore calmly "you have no ambition which makes you the ideal temporary Minister".

"But I enjoy leading my Aurors!" James protested.

"Dumbledore is correct James" said Peter in agreement "you have the authority, the leadership skills and you are popular in the Wizarding World. You'd easily get elected".

James looked round to every face for support but found that almost everyone was nodding in agreement with this statement. In frustration he turned to his best friend, his brother, Sirius. If there was one person he knew would back him up on this it was Sirius "Padfoot help me out here!" he pleaded.

Sirius took a deep breath and then said apologetically "sorry Prongs old buddy but I agree with everyone else. You are the best choice hands down".

James threw his hands in the air and shouted "I give up!".

Thus it was settled that the Wizengamot members that could make it to Hogwarts would put forward candidates and the Orders candidate would be James Potter.

Once the meeting broke up Harry caught up with Ginny "I thought you were a goner" he told his girlfriend feeling very worried still.

Ginny smiled weakly "I wasn't sure we'd make it either" she confessed "but I wasn't going to let anything stop me from being with you love".

They kissed deeply and then held each other for a long time as if each never wanted to let the other go again.

* * *

Everyone in the Order of the Phoenix who had reached Number 12 had stayed there for a week so far. During this week Harry, his Dad and the others over seventeen made several trips Hogwarts. Today they would make another trip to Hogwarts to meet with the Ministry employees that had escaped and to hold the vote on a new Minister.

The situation in the Wizarding World had already gotten worse as the Deatheaters seized control of the Daily Prophet turning it into their mouthpiece churning out Voldemort's propaganda.

They had also installed a puppet Minister named Pius Thicknesse a junior Department Head and in actual fact the only Department Head to join Voldemort's cause.

Thicknesse had made a speech two days ago in which he'd proclaimed that the insidious treachery of Muggles, Muggleborns and those opposed to his (Voldemort's) regime needed to be dealt with.

A Muggleborn Registration Commission had been established under the overseeing of Dolores Umbridge the one time secretary of Minister Fudge who had gone to Azkaban.

Azkaban was thankfully one place that the Ministry at Hogwarts still controlled by utilising Aurors and other loyal witches and wizards to guard it.

The one bright spark on the horizon was the fact that Xenophilius Lovegood the Editor of the Quibbler newspaper were solidly onside with the Order and released the truth in opposition to the Prophet.

The "Ministry" had declared Harry, Draco, James and anyone else involved in the Order as undesirables needing to be captured and imprisoned.

Their reason for this was that they were suspected of being involved in the murder of Severus Snape.

Harry had been furious when he'd heard this.

Harry and the various Order members arrived outside the gates of Hogwarts and were met by professor Dumbledore who checked they were not using Polyjuice or under the Imperius Curse. Once they were all determined to be fine they were let inside and the gates clanged shut behind them.

As they entered the grounds they stared in surprise at the vast new building that had sprung up. On the outside it was as tall as Hogwarts Castle but Harry bet that on the inside it was even taller and wider which it would need to be for so many Departments to fit in.

They entered the lobby and found that several Aurors were on guard.

Kingsley Shacklebolt escorted them through the grand building and to a lift.

They went down a few at a time and found themselves in a stone floored corridor.

At the end of the corridor they were shown into a large chamber in which sat row upon row of stone benches.

Already several members of the Wizengamot were there waiting with Arnold Greengrass being the most well known.

After greetings were made and it was determined that all Wizengamot members that could make it had made it the meeting was got underway with Professor Dumbledore sitting as Chief Warlock proclaiming "my fellow witches and wizards, we are gathered here this afternoon to elect a new Minister for Magic following the violent murder of Minister Fudge and the capture of the Ministry building by the Deatheaters".

Everyone applauded this "I therefore declare the voting for Minister to be open as we have selected our candidates".

The voting was done by show of hands as had been the tradition for centuries.

The candidates were Harry's father James, Arnold Greengrass and much to his surprise Arthur Weasley.

To many people's surprise James withdrew after the first round of voting which placed all candidates level and he put all of his support behind Arthur.

By a margin of 45 votes to 25 votes of the seventy remaining Wizengamot members Arthur Weasley was duly elected to be the new Minister for Magic.

He was congratulated by his supporters while even Arnold Greengrass shook his hand and was please to be named Head of Magical Accidents and Catastrophies.

The voting over there was a meeting of all new Department Heads.

The DMLE was once again headed up by Amelia Bones who had been in the post long ago. The aforementioned Greengrass was of course a Department Head, James remained Head Auror, Remus was appointed as Head of Magical Games and Sports, Augusta Longbottom was given a job as Head of Magical Transportation, Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures went to Charlie Weasley whose brother Bill was made an Auror and finally of course was the Department of International Magical Cooperation which would be headed up Andromeda Tonks with help from her husband Ted.

* * *

The day after the Minister was chosen was the day in which the Marauder Clan decided to check if their home was safe and habitable.

Harry, Draco, Sirius, Remus, Peter and James all Apparated to just outside the wards and entered the grounds of the Manor.

They were happy to find that the house and grounds had not been compromised. A thorough search revealed no nasty surprises and showed that everything was as it had been when they'd left over a week earlier.

Harry struggled to believe it. Had it really only been one week since the fall of the Ministry and attack on The Burrow?.

Once they knew the house and grounds were secure they all Apparated back to Grimmauld Place and were greeted by their friends and family "is everything alright?" asked Molly anxiously.

Harry grinned "it's fine. They never got access to it so everything's as we left it" he assured her.

"We can go back any time and between you and me" said James to everyone else "I'll be happy to leave today.

Everyone else voiced their agreement including Neville, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Luna who were all staying with them "well that's settled then" said James with a massive smile on his face "we return to Marauder Manor today".

A great cheer went up at this pronouncement.

* * *

As Harry settled down in his room that night which he was sharing with Ron and Neville he felt very glad to be back in his own bed in his own house as he had never liked the aura that hung over Number 12.

He still felt amazed that Mr Weasley was the new Minister for Magic and had to grin at the look on the man's face when he'd not only been nominated but had in fact won the election.

Harry was also happy that much of the Ministry had survived and that they would continue to fight against Voldemort and his minions. They were the real Ministry no matte what the puppet Thicknesse tried to claim.

Harry did feel worried though. Very worried. It might not be now or in six months time even but he knew that one day there would be another battle. Probably at Hogwarts and he knew he would have to fight Voldemort when that time came.

He couldn't fail in defeating the dark wizard. If he was killed before he killed Voldemort then it was all over.

He resolved to work on his duelling skills and reflexes. He was going to be quicker, more agile and more resilient than old Snake Face and he WOULD beat him.

With these final thoughts he fell into an easy sleep grateful that he no longer had any connection with Voldemort and didn't have to worry about the old git reading his thoughts or implanting false visions.

Little did he know what Voldemort's minions were currently up to...

* * *

Diagon Alley, London.

Fred Weasley was sleeping soundly in his bed when he heard the sound of breaking glass. The ward alarms began to blare.

He leapt out of bed, snatched his wand and burst from his room a second after George exited his "did you hear that?" George asked.

Fred nodded "came from downstairs it sounds like".

The two of them went halfway down the stairs and saw shadows moving about "Deatheaters?" said George.

"Deatheaters" agreed Fred.

The two of them prepared their wands, leapt the last few stairs, landed catlike on the floor and sprang into action.

"Flipendo!" yelled Fred "Stupefy!" roared George.

They hit one masked creep while the others hurriedly threw up a shield to protect themselves "we should grab that fallen Deatheater and get the hell out of here!" Fred shouted.

George nodded "lets do it. Cover me!" he said.

Fred nodded and continued to fire spells at the Deatheaters who had by now been forced to drop the shield charm.

George sprang from behind the stack of boxes that had been their cover, dodged the spell fire, grabbed the Deatheater and nodded to Fred. He stood up, turned on the spot and was gone in whoosh of sound.

Fred himself turned on the spot and managed to get out but not before he felt something painful strike him in the leg "argh!" he cried out and the next second was gone.

Fred Weasley blinked and looked round. The forest he was in looked familiar and he realised that it was the forest by Marauder Manor. he tried to stand up but fell down in pain "easy Gred" came the voice of his brother who appeared by his side "lets get you into the Manor".

"What about him?" Fred nodded over to the captured Deatheater who was plainly unconscious.

"I took off his mask. It's Cedric Diggory".

* * *

Authors Note: Hello my awesome readers. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Well Diggory has been captured by the Weasley Twins. Wonder what he'll have to say for himself.


	56. Chapter 56

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all

* * *

Chapter Fifty Six: Return To Hogwarts and First Classes

September the 1st arrived and once again it was time for Harry, his siblings and friends to ride the crimson red Hogwarts Express back to one of the three places Harry had called home in his seventeen years.

As the group containing the Marauders, their offspring, Mrs Weasley, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville and Luna all made their way onto platform 9 Harry noted that there were several Aurors and Order members standing round in ordinary Muggle clothes keeping watch for Deatheaters, Dementors and other dark beings employed by Voldemort.

As Harry passed by two of them who were guarding the gateway to 9 and 3/4's he felt immensely grateful to them and to Ron's Dad Mr Weasley who was the new Minister and had instructed James to place people on the station to show the students and parents that they were still safe.

Despite the fact that the Ministry buildings in London had been captured by Voldemort's followers very few Ministry personnel had been captured and as a result many people did not think of Pius Thicknesse as a true Minister for Magic. He had not been elected nor did he have the support of anyone outside of the sham Ministry.

The fact was though, that Voldemort and his followers could strike anywhere and had struck in many places against wizards and witches and even Muggles.

It didn't help either that Deatheaters now ran the Daily Prophet newspaper and consistently printed pro-Voldemort and pro-Deatheater articles as well as articles on the danger of Muggles, the purity of bloody and the fact that Harry and the other New Marauders should be considered criminals.

Thankfully though not many people seemed to read the Daily Prophet these days with a lot of people switching to The Quibbler which was now based at Hogwarts and told the wizarding public the truth.

With the takeover of the Wizarding Wireless Network by Deatheaters there was even now an alternative radio station called Marauder Watch which kept viewers informed of the disappearance and murders of their fellow witches and wizards.

When Harry and the others reached platform 9 and 3/4's he wasn't surprised to see that parents and other family members were not hanging around.

They wished their children a good term, made sure they got on the train and then Disapparated. Harry couldn't blame them. The last thing you wanted was to make yourself a target for the Deatheaters and earn Voldemort's wrath.

In conjunction with everyone else, Harry, his friends and siblings said goodbye to the adults who wished them a good term and they then got onto the train.

For Harry this train ride would be something special as he had been named Head Boy for the year with the Head Girl being Daphne Greengrass of Slytherin.

As Harry stowed his trunk and Hedwigs cage in the luggage rack he and Hermione said goodbye to everyone and went off to the Prefects carriage.

"How many Slytherins do you think have come back?" said Harry as they walked down the train.

"Well I'd bet most of the one's in our year and below aren't on the train" said Hermione "as for the rest..." she shrugged "who knows?".

The two of them reached the Prefects carriage, pushed the sliding door open and entered. They were surprised to find that they were not the first as both Daphne Greengrass the Head Girl and Blaise Zabini her boyfriend and Seventh Year Slytherin Prefect were both already in the carriage waiting for the meeting to start "hi Daphne, hi Blaise" said Harry as he greeted them with smiles and handshakes as did Hermione.

Harry and Hermione sat down "just between us and you two, how many Slytherins are actually coming back this year?" asked Harry.

Blaise sighed "I won't lie" he replied "about half the House have stayed away this year. Most due to their parents pulling them from the school and some due to fear of Voldemort".

"So how many in our year?" Hermione asked curiously.

This time Daphne answered sounding upset "us two only" she told them "not that I'm surprised. Pansy's in love with Nott and will follow him anywhere and the others are all children of Deatheaters".

Harry couldn't believe it. This year there would be just two Slytherin Seventh Years.

It made Harry realise that this year was going to be a very weird term indeed.

It was especially odd for Harry to be the one holding the meeting with the Prefects alongside Daphne and he felt that it would take some getting used to the idea of him being Head Boy as unlike most Head Boys it had not been his ambition.

Despite being Head Boy Harry didn't stay in the Prefects carriage after the Prefect meeting broke up with he and Hermione heading back to the compartment where they had left their friends.

Harry had to admit he did enjoy the perk of not having to patrol the corridors as much, though he still patrolled once every hour for ten minutes he generally spent the train ride talking with his friends and family, playing chess and exploding snap or cuddling up to Ginny.

By the time the train pulled into Hogsmeade Station after some eight and a half hours at seven thirty pm Harry was glad to get out and stretch his legs.

Once they had got their luggage off the train the New Marauders began to shepherd First Years over to Hagrid who could be seen in his moleskin overcoat swinging his large lamp calling out "Firs Years! Firs Years over here!".

Harry had also dragged over a protesting Molly who stopped protesting when her boyfriend Neville whispered something to her causing her to laugh. Harry still felt amazed at how those two had lasted and had a feeling it was probably serious.

"Hey Hagrid" Harry said with a grin as he and the others approached their large friend.

Hagrid saw them and smiled "alrigh you lot?" he asked the group. They all smiled and nodded.

"I bet it's weird having the Ministry within the grounds" said Harry.

Hagrid nodded "s' a bit unusual" he replied "but they're good people specially your Dad" he said to Ron and Ginny who beamed at the compliment "well I'd love to chat but well...you know" Hagrid said.

The all nodded "we'll see you in a bit Hagrid" said Hermione.

"How about tea on Saturday afternoon?" Hagrid suggested.

All of the New Marauders plus Molly jumped at the chance as they loved chatting to Hagrid.

"This years going to be very strange" commented Ron as the eight of them piled into one of the Thestral drawn carriages.

"How do you mean Ron?" asked Luna.

Ron looked round at them all "well I mean...our parents and uncles are working within the grounds now" he said.

Most of them nodded. It felt very odd to Harry that he was likely to bump into his Dad or uncles at some point. Then again it was no odder than the fact that his best friends Dad was Minister for Magic.

As the carriages drew up to the Hogwarts gates Harry could see a pair of Aurors outside the gates and another pair inside protecting the grounds.

The Aurors outside the gates were checking each carriage and every student to make sure they were not Deatheaters in disguise or trying to smuggle in cursed objects as Nott had done at one point the previous year.

After a short time each carriage was sent on their way. Harry knew that many people would be annoyed by the searches but for his part he felt it was a very good precaution to put in place given the sheer size of the population in the Hogwarts grounds and just how many important people now resided there.

He grinned as their carriage drew up to the gates and he saw that the two Aurors on duty were one's he knew well "Tonks!, Perce!" he called out.

The group piled out of the carriage to shake hands with the two Aurors with Ron and Ginny being especially happy to see their brother with the feeling seeming mutual "sorry for having to check you and the carriage you lot" said Percy.

"It's fine" said Ron "we get it".

"Much better to be careful" agreed Hermione.

"How's Moony doing as Department Head?" Harry asked Tonks as she helped Percy check them and the carriage. She chuckled "lets just say it's going to take some getting used to" she told them all causing them to laugh.

In a short time the search was over and they said goodbye to Percy and Tonks as their carriage was waved through the gates.

As the carriage moved along the path to the front steps of Hogwarts Castle Harry was not surprised to see more Aurors and Order members stationed along the way to keep things secure and greeted Kingsley who stood at the castle entrance "hey you lot" he replied in his deep voice "enjoy the feast".

"Will do" Harry replied with a laugh and they headed inside.

As they walked across the Entrance Hall Harry saw his two fellow dorm mates Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas. He had been wanting to speak to both of them especially as he was concerned for the pair of them since Seamus was half-blood like he was and Dean was Muggleborn. He wanted to check their family were safe.

"Hey Dean, Seamus!" he called out as the eight of them reached the pair. Dean and Seamus stopped at his voice and waited for the eight of them to catch up "I just wanted to see how you guys are doing, what with those bloody Deatheaters being out there".

Dean and Seamus looked at each and Dean nodded "we're doing fine Harry, thanks for asking" he said patting Harry's shoulder in gratitude "just a bit worried for our parents is all".

Harry nodded "i figured you would be. If you guys need to chat about anything just come and see me ok?".

The two boys murmured their thanks and walked into the Great Hall alongside the other eight.

Harry took note of the fact there were two Aurors stationed on the doors to the Great Hall and another pair just inside it "good security eh?" Neville whispered. Harry nodded feeling a lot safer with all the trained wizards and witches in the vicinity.

They found seats at the Gryffindor table and as they sat down they greeted their House mates who all seemed happy to see them. Harry took some time to speak to the other half-blood and Muggleborn students in his House and said to them the same he'd said to Dean and Seamus.

Once all of the students between Second and Seventh Year were seated at their House tables Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table and duly noted that the table was half as full of students as it had been the previous year "I can't believe it" he said to Hermione who shook her head in disbelief at the sheer number of those who were missing. He spotted Lucius Greengrass formerly Nott at the Slytherin table and waved at him. Lucius waved back happily. Harry was glad he was getting on so well living with his cousins.

Professor McGonagall soon entered the hall leading in the new intake of First Year students who looked just as nervous as always and as always were sticking together looking round in awe or staring at the stool on which the old and patched sorting hat sat ready to sort the new students.

As always before the sorting ceremony a hole opened within the brim of the hat and it began to sing "a thousand years ago when I was new and my owner wore me with pride the four founders had a dream. They wished for students to be sorted based on skills and personality, a thousand years later this dream must be ended or Hogwarts will surely fall, unity!" the hat cried "unity!" it cried again "unity now and always!".

It finished singing and Ron was openly gaping at it "what the bloody hell did all that mean?" he blurted out in confusion".

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's occasional denseness "oh Ron!" she said in exasperation "you never pay attention do you".

Ron looked lost and threw his hands up. Again Hermione rolled her eyes "it was saying that although we're all in separate houses we need to put that aside for this year and just look at each other as Hogwarts students first and part of our Houses second in order for the school to survive".

"Oh" said Ron. After a pause he asked "why didn't he just say that?".

Once the scattered applause subsided Professor McGonagall unrolled the scroll containing student names and began to call them out.

The sorting ceremony passed by quicker than usual due to the lessened amount of new Slytherins and in a short time Professor McGonagall was rolling up the list of names and taking away the stool and hat which would not be seen again until the following year.

Every head turned to the staff table as Professor Dumbledore stood behind the podium ready to make his speech of welcome "welcome, welcome, welcome!" he proclaimed, his hands spread wide, a warm smile on his lined face and a slight twinkle in his light blue eyes "to all of you students who are here for the first time I greet you warmly and hope you will enjoy learning within the castle. To those of you returning I say welcome back with all my heart, I hope you have a good term and show the new students every kindness".

He went over the usual start of term notices before he hit on what seemed to be the main subject of his welcome speech "and now that the usual notices are out of the way I have two important announcements to make. The first is that with the very sad loss of Professor Snape we have had to employ a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. This year I have managed to persuade a wizard very adept in the defensive arts to take up the post. Please stand up Professor Pettigrew".

Most of the students applauded politely while the New Marauders applauded enthusiastically.

Harry though only applauded a little. He knew he should be happy for his uncle securing such a job but he couldn't help the feeling that something very bad was coming his uncle's way as seemed to happen to most of the DADA teachers. Quirrell had died at his hand, Ron had killed Lockhart, Remus had been forced to resign, the fake Moody had been kissed by Dementors, the real Moody had been killed at The Burrow and Harry, Draco and Molly's uncle Severus Snape had been killed by Deatheaters back in June. Harry was sure something bad was going to happen to his uncle but he had no idea what.

"I am sure we all wish him luck in his new job" said Dumbledore. The twinkle left his blue eyes as he continued to speak "and now an announcement that many of you if not all will not like. Due to the need for those residing within Hogwarts to pull together against the common threat I have decided upon consultation with the Heads of House that the House Cup will not be contested this year".

The muttering started slowly raising in volume gradually before the noise of muttering both angry and confused filled the entire hall "silence!" Dumbledore shouted loudly.

The muttering ceased as every face locked themselves to him "I realise that many of you are not happy with this decision but at this time in history with the Wizarding World under such threat from Voldemort and his Deatheaters we must strive for unity not division. I want each of you to bear this in mind this year if you take nothing else...it is not how we are different that matters but how we are similar" the old wizard said.

"And now I think it only appropriate that we should revive a tradition and sing the school song. I shall conduct so choose a piece of music you enjoy and sing along".

Most of the students picked a style of music to sing in and belted out the tune either lustily or hesitantly depending on their nature.

"Wonderful" said Dumbledore with a smile. He added "and now I think I have kept you from your feast for long enough, you may now tuck in".

Instantly, food and drink began to appear on the House tables. As people began to eat and drink they talked amongst themselves about the highly unexpected and unusual announcement "I think it's a good thing" Hermione said as she piled roast beef and potatoes onto her plate.

Several of the Gryffindor's stared at her as if she was completely mad but Harry leapt to her defence "I agree" he said "we need to be united as Dumbledore says not competing".

"What about Quidditch though?" Ron asked.

Harry laughed "well yeah we can still compete in Quidditch" he said "just not in other things".

Ron looked ready to argue but Ginny changed the subject "are you signing up for Apparition lessons love?" she asked as she cut up her chicken.

Harry nodded, swallowed the bit of Yorkshire pudding he'd been eating and replied "it's the first thing I plan to do once we reach the common room".

"You won't regret it" his brother cut in "it's great being able to Apparate anywhere".

Harry rolled his eyes "given how much you were doing it at the Manor this summer I'm not surprised you'd say that".

His brother grinned "you're just jealous because you've had to wait for months" he replied.

Everyone laughed and they all fell into good-natured banter before Neville asked him "when are you holding trials this year?".

"Same time as always" Harry replied "first weekend of term".

Once the feast was over Harry and Hermione got up ahead of the other Gryffindor's. It was not technically their job this year to deal with the younger students but the pair both gathered a group of First Years to them. Harry saw that Daphne and Blaise were doing the same at the Slytherin table. They were surprised when the two Seventh Years approached with the other First Years "Blaise, Daphne" Harry said in greeting.

The two replied with smiles "this is Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass" Hermione told them "Blaise is the Seventh Year Slytherin Prefect while Daphne is Head Girl this year".

"If you get lost or need any other help and they are nearby don't hesitate to ask them for assistance" Harry told them "I know what you've probably been told or heard about Slytherins but most aren't a bad lot at all".

Blaise grinned at the compliment and told the Slytherin First Years the same before Harry and Hermione led their First Years out of the Great Hall.

"You've really grown up you know" Hermione remarked as they led the First Years up the first staircase.

Harry grinned "well it's a lot easier when Nott isn't here causing problems".

Hermione nodded agreement "I'm glad he's not here this year" she said happily.

They chivied the First Years along in a friendly but stern way to ensure they didn't feel nervous but also didn't get lost and soon the two of them were standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady with the First Years behind them. Some were staring in open mouthed surprise at the moving painting.

"Password!" the Fat Lady said sharply.

"wizards defiance" Harry replied feeling the password to be somewhat apt.

"You may pass" the Fat Lady replied as the portrait swung aside to admit them.

Harry and Hermione called out "follow us this way" and stepped through the portrait hole, along the short passageway and into the spacious, comfortable common room.

A short time later the other Prefects arrived with the remaining First Years. Harry grinned once again at the fact that Dennis Creevey was the Fifth Year boy Prefect "well done you two" he said to Colin and Dennis who beamed at the compliment and went to stand next to Harry and Hermione alongside the other two girls Prefects "now" said Harry to the First Years "we are the six Prefects for Gryffindor this year. If you need help and we are around come and speak to us, we'll be happy to help".

"Don't forget to speak to our Head of House Professor McGonagall" Hermione added "she may seem fierce but she's a very kind woman and willing to help if you have a problem".

"A few other things you should know" said Harry "first of all watch for the staircases, they like to move and sometimes there are trick stairs that disappear so be careful".

"Second of all heed the Headmasters warning about the Forbidden Forest" Hermione chipped in "it may seem like over caution but there are a lot of not very nice things in the forest".

Harry raised an eyebrow as he'd have said much more than "not very nice" but Hermione glared.

"And finally for those of you who wish to take part in Quidditch trials..." Harry took out a piece of parchment and pinned it on the noticeboard "sign here and make sure to be at the Quidditch stadium at nine o clock on Saturday...alright?".

"Any more questions?" asked Hermione. A few First Years had some concerns and each one of the Prefects fielded questions for a further fifteen minutes before directing the boys and girls to the correct way to find their dorm room.

Once all of the First Years were gone Harry, followed closely by Hermione walked over to the noticeboard that said "Apparition Lessons List". He signed his name with Hermione putting hers just below.

As Harry climbed into bed that night he felt joyful at being back at one of his favourite places in the world.

* * *

The next morning, a Tuesday, was the first day of classes in the new school year. Harry woke up early and as he waited for his friends in the common room he read his favourite book on Quidditch: Wimbourne Wasps Rise To Glory. He had read it so much over the years that the cover was rather battered though he had taken great care with the pages themselves.

After ten minutes he checked his watch and found that the time was ten minutes past seven.

He buried his nose back in his book and had been reading for ten minutes more when the rest of the New Marauders began to enter the common room.

Hermione, Ginny and Luna were first just as he had expected they would be.

He greeted all three with hello's before giving his fiancee a long kiss "I missed not being able to do that last night" he told her and she laughed heartily.

The four of them sat around talking about lessons before there were joined by a yawning Ron and Neville being pushed into the room by an exasperated Draco "they wouldn't bloody get up!" he said irritably before going off to greet his girlfriend Luna.

"Give us a break" Ron moaned sleepily "it's our first morning back".

Harry rolled his eyes and said "that's why we need to get exercising Ron. No time like the present".

The seven of them headed over to the portrait hole which opened up for them and they headed off for their usual early morning run not surprised to be told they needed someone to go with them.

As Percy was on the door to the grounds that morning he agreed to accompany them and he and Harry ran at the same pace.

As they jogged Harry asked him "what's the mood like inside the Ministry?".

Percy looked round before answering "tense Harry. Very tense. There was another attack last night, by Dementors, in a place called Little Whinging" Harry froze upon hearing the name.

He pulled Percy to a stop as the others jogged on ahead "did you just say...Little Whinging?" he asked wanting clarification.

Percy looked confused but nodded "that's right" he replied "why? have you got family there?".

Harry sighed "if you could ever call them that" he told Percy "my maternal aunt called Petunia Dursley lives there with her husband and son".

"I'm sorry" Percy said.

"Don't be sorry" Harry said "I've only ever met them once...at the zoo when I was young. They were gits". He looked at Percy "were they kissed?".

"Everyone in the suburb was" Percy replied solemnly. Harry looked at him thoughtfully before saying "well I'm sorry for them and anyone else that was hurt. They were gits by all accounts but no one deserves that fate".

Percy nodded seriously and the two of them resumed their jogging.

An hour later the New Marauders entered the castle and headed into the Great Hall for breakfast.

Harry selected a full English breakfast as he felt particularly hungry that morning and was just dipping a sausage into one of his eggs when Professor McGonagall began making her way along the table distributing timetables to all of the students "thanks Professor" said Harry gratefully as she handed him his. He put down his knife and fork and began scanning it.

It turned out that he actually had Defence Against the Dark Arts as his first class of the day which would be a double lesson while he had Potions that afternoon "we've got Defence Against the Dark Arts first!" he told Draco, Ron, Hermione and Neville who were all taking DADA with him.

"It'll be interesting to see what Uncle Wormtail's come up with" Draco said excitedly. There were murmurs of agreement from the other New Marauders who couldn't wait for the lesson to begin.

Once breakfast was over the five of them slung their bags over their shoulders, said goodbye to Ginny and Luna who were heading for Potions and headed off to the DADA classroom which was once again in the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower rather the dungeons as it had been last year.

When they arrived outside of the DADA classroom they found Dean, Seamus and Parvati already waiting alongside the other Seventh Years who had taken the class last year and returned.

They greeted most of the students warmly while the others they gave curt nods to.

After a few minutes of waiting the classroom door burst open and the happy voice of their Uncle Peter could be heard "come in, come!" he called happily as he beckoned the Seventh Years into the classroom.

When they had all found seats (the New Marauders sat at the front) and the register had been taken Professor Pettigrew began to speak "this term we shall be covering a being so dark that even Deatheaters don't compare" the class exchanged nervous looks and Harry pondered just what creature could be WORSE than a Dementor.

Professor Pettigrew strode over to the blackboard and wrote one word Inferi.

"Most if not all of all you will not have heard of these creatures" said the Professor seriously "who here can tell me what Inferi are?".

To the surprise of no on in the class Hermione was the one whose hand immediately shot into the air to answer "yes Miss Granger" said the Professor "please Sir, Inferi are creatures created by the use of dark magic on the dead which resurrects their body to fight for a dark cause while having no memory of their previous life".

"Very good Miss Granger" said Pettigrew with a smile as he wrote the information up on the chalkboard "hence why Inferi are even more dark than Dementors as Dementors make the choice to be evil while Inferi have no choice". He turned back to the class "your work for the first hour is to turn to page 5 in your books and copy the information on Inferi between pages 5-10. For the second hour we will learn a good spell for fighting them and will begin practising it".

At the beginning of the second hour Professor Pettigrew went round the class checking their work and either complimenting or pointing out improvements in definitions.

He returned to the front of the class "and now the mundane part of the class is over" he said causing grins among the students "we shall now learn a flame spell by the name of Incendio" he told them as he wrote on the board "the spell Incendio is used for the purpose of setting an object or a being alight" he said as most of the class began copying down notes. Harry smirked as he saw Hermione's quill racing across the parchment as she no doubt copied down everything that was being said and most probably just as it had been said.

Once the information was copied down Professor Pettigrew said "alright class. Wands out and books away please" they did as bid "stand up and come over here". The students walked over to his desk.

"Now point your wands out and say the phrase Incendio" every student did so and Harry grinned when he immediately managed to produce a flame on the tip of his wand. Blaise Zabini, Neville, Draco and Daphne Greengrass all managed it too while the others needed more tries before they succeeded including, surprisingly, Seamus Finnegan who tended to be good at blowing things up.

By the time the class had ended everyone had managed to get the incantation right and most had successfully produced flame on their wand tip "very good everyone" said Professor Pettigrew with a beaming smile "next lesson we shall work on using the flame to incinerate things before moving on eventually to making bigger flames" the bell rang "homework is to write down all the uses of the Incendio spell. Two feet of parchment should cover it. Hand it to me next lesson!" he called out as the students grabbed bags and made for the door.

Harry and the other New Marauders stayed behind and went over to Peter "hi guys" said Peter with a smile "so...how did I do?".

"That class was amazing!" exclaimed Neville happily.

"Yeah, really good stuff to learn first lesson" agreed Draco.

The others voiced their agreement.

"Glad you all approve" said Peter happily "well I'd better not keep you" he said. They turned to leave but it seemed Peter had remembered something important "oh and by the way Harry" he said causing Harry to turn round "what it is Uncle Wormtail?" he asked.

Peter felt a bit embarrassed knowing his nephew wouldn't like being escorted about "Professor McGonagall's busy this Saturday so I'll be overseeing the Quidditch try outs".

Harry stared at him "I don't need protecting!" he exclaimed angrily "I'm not some little kid!" he said "I can cope!".

"I know you can Harry" his uncle agreed soothingly "it's just a precaution".

Harry glared "I don't care what it is. I'm not standing for it!" he said hotly and determinedly as he stormed from the classroom followed by the others.

They were halfway down the corridor when Hermione said "you know he's right Harry. It's for your own good".

Harry stopped and turned "I don't care" he said stubbornly "I didn't have people protecting me when I faced Quirrell and Voldemort in First Year or when I went into the Chamber in Second Year to save Ginny and stop Lockhart and Riddle or when I fought the Dementors off or when I was in the graveyard. They can't treat me like a child! and neither can you!".

He turned and walked off cutting off any further discussion of the subject.

Harry didn't speak to any of the others during the wait for Potions or during Potions and was in fact brooding so much during class that he accidentally stirred his rash cure potion the wrong way causing it to boil over and Professor Slughorn to be rather disappointed in him not that he cared much at that particular moment.

As he packed up his things and left the Potions classroom he made the decision to speak to Professor McGonagall before having his lunch.

Decision made he walked out of the classroom and stormed off to his Head of House's office before any of the others had a chance to catch up to him.

When he reached Professor McGonagall's Office he was seething in anger but calmed himself down enough to knock politely and wait for a response.

It seemed he was in luck as, after a few moments, a voice called out "come in". He pushed the door open and found Professor McGonagall, as usual, sitting at her desk in the process of looking over papers.

She turned to face him "what is it you need Potter?" she asked sounding rather tired.

Harry took a deep breath and decided to speak calmly "I've just been told about my Unc...I mean Professor Pettigrew keeping watch over me during the Quidditch try outs this weekend" he said "I'm not happy about it at all".

Professor McGonagall looked about to interrupt but Harry said "please Professor let me finish" she nodded and said "very well...continue".

Harry began to pace "I understand that everyone is just trying to keep me safe Professor but I'm an adult now not a child. I don't need people looking out for me all the time. I've got my brother and my friends plus not to be arrogant about it but I'm really good at duelling. I'd like to speak to the Headmaster and change his mind".

Professor McGonagall considered him for a moment before sighing "very well Potter I shall arrange a meeting for you with Professor Dumbledore this evening provided he isn't busy".

Harry smiled gratefully "thank you Professor" he said as he left the office feeling slightly happier.

He headed off for the Great Hall and lunch knowing that he needed to apologise to the others for his behaviour earlier which wasn't befitting an adult wizard which he now was.

By the time he entered the Great Hall and had said hello to a few people he found his friends and brother clustered together at the Gryffindor table engrossed in their food.

He sat down quietly next to them and tapped Draco on the shoulder. Draco put down the beef sandwich he'd been eating and turned "oh..Harry it's you" he said "How'd it go with McGonagall?" he asked.

"Tell you in a minute" promised "can you get Hermione, Ron and Neville's attention?" his brother smiled no doubt realising why "no problem" he replied.

"Hey guys!" called out Draco as he also whistled. All of the New Marauders turned to face him and he said "sorry Ginny, Luna. For once this only concerns Hermione, Ron and Neville" seeing their disappointed faces he promised "we'll tell what it's all about in a bit" they both nodded their acceptance of this and returned to a conversation they'd been having.

"Guys" said Harry "I'm really sorry about the way I behaved in the Defence corridor. It's not your fault they're trying to keep guards on me and I'm especially sorry to you Hermione. You were only giving your opinion and I was rude to you, I apologise for that".

They all smiled and Hermione said "it's alright Harry. I get it".

Thereafter lunch passed by amicably as Harry thought over his meeting with Professor Dumbledore that evening and just what he would say to the old wizard.

'I may respect you Professor' he thought 'but I'm still giving you a piece of my mind tonight'.


	57. Chapter 57

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything Potter related

* * *

Chapter Fifty Seven: Shocks and Surprises

Afternoon classes went by very quickly and Harry soon found himself eating dinner as he pondered over just what he was going to say to Dumbledore about Saturday.

Before he knew it dinner was also done and he said goodbye to the rest of the New Marauders and his sister as he left the Gryffindor table and the great Hall to find the entrance to Dumbledore's Office which he'd been told by Professor McGonagall was on the Seventh Floor today which meant Harry had a lot of walking to do to get there.

Half an hour and a lot of walking later Harry found himself standing in front of the two stone gargoyles that protected the spiral staircase that led to Dumbledore's living quarters and office.

"Sugar Quills" he said, giving the password that Professor McGonagall had informed him of during dinner.

He stepped onto the spiral staircase and waited as it spiralled upwards before coming to a stop level with the corridor that led to Dumbledore's quarters.

Harry had been expecting the office doors to open by themselves which usually happened when he visited the office but tonight they stayed firmly shut until he pushed them open.

He entered the office and looked around. To his surprise the old Headmaster was not in his office which was devoid of people and the only sounds came from snoring portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses and the noises made by Fawkes the Phoenix who lived in Dumbledore's Office on a large perch.

As Harry approached the bird with which he was friendly he stroked it. As he did so he noted that all of Fawkes' feathers had been shed and the bird looked old and tired which clearly meant it was either his burning day or one of the days before his burning.

Sure enough, one second Harry was stroking him and the next the phoenix had gone in a puff of smoke, crumbled into ash from which a new Fawkes emerged.

Harry smiled at the baby Fawkes as it stretched it's wings out, stared round the office and loudly announced it's presence "it was another burning day for him" said a voice behind Harry.

He turned round and found Professor Dumbledore closing the office doors with a wave of his wand.

"Professor" said Harry respectfully.

"Please feel free to sit down Harry" said Dumbledore as he crossed the room and sat behind his desk "I'm sorry I was not here on time. I hope you haven't been waiting long" said the old wizard kindly.

Harry shook his head "no Professor. I've just arrived" Dumbledore nodded seeming glad not to have caused any inconvenience "I'm afraid I haven't got too long Harry" the Headmaster told him "I've been at the Ministry for most of the day dealing with a..rather bad situation to put it mildly".

Harry frowned as his complaint was forgotten "what sort of bad situation Sir?" he asked in concern.

Dumbledore sighed "I was not planning to mention it until the next Order meeting but I am sorry to say we are likely to need to hold one tomorrow night at the latest. I trust you know what Inferi are Harry" he said.

Harry nodded as he finally seemed to understand just why Uncle Wormtail was teaching the class about the dark creatures "yes" he said "Unc...Professor Pettigrew has just started teaching us all about them" he told the Headmaster.

Dumbledore smiled "I am relieved about that. I asked him to put it in the curriculum rather last minute".

"But why Sir?" Harry asked as a horrible feeling began to develop in the pit of his stomach.

"Well as you will no doubt have heard once or twice from your family and others, Inferi are creatures created by using a dark resurrection ceremony which brings the dead to life but only their bodies while their memories are gone and they are slavishly obedient to the one who summons them".

Harry swallowed as his mouth felt very dry all of a sudden "you aren't saying...that...that...Voldemort..." Dumbledore nodded seriously. There was no hint of a twinkle in his blue eyes "I am afraid that is exactly what I am saying Harry. Voldemort it seems, has been resurrecting the dead to act as Inferi for him against us and the Ministry just as he did during the First War".

Harry was absolutely stunned and more than a little afraid "how many has he resurrected this time?".

Dumbledore sighed again "that is what we have been trying to determine for most of the day using our contact in the Deatheater ranks but I am sad to say that even he does not known the true extent of it".

Before Dumbledore could say anything more about it the fireplace flared up. Harry and Dumbledore turned their attention to it and were both surprised to see Harry's Godfather Sirius' head staring at them through the flames.

"Sirius" said Dumbledore calmly "to what do we owe the pleasure".

Harry noticed that his godfather looked very upset "well you asked me to let you know tonight if there were any more reports of Inferi being raised by Voldemort...".

Sirius was silent for a few moments causing Dumbledore to urge him along "yes Sirius?".

Sirius sighed "this is not something I'm comfortable saying over the floo" he said to them.

"Then by all mean come through and speak in person" Dumbledore said.

Sirius nodded and his head disappeared from the fireplace. A short time later he was arriving in this office and cleaning himself off with Scourgify.

"Would you like a seat Sirius?" Sirius shook his head "no thanks Albus, I think it's better if I remain standing".

"Very well then...continue" replied Dumbledore.

"We've had three reports come in to Auror Headquarters tonight of Inferi rising. The first concerns the deceased parents of a certain bushy haired girl".

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed in horror "Voldemort's created Inferi from the Grangers?!".

Sirius nodded sadly "and that isn't even the worst of it I'm sorry to say".

Harry frowned "what could be worse?".

Sirius began to pace the office "it's worse because the second report we had came from the churchyard of Ottery St Mary. One of our Aurors stationed in the village informed us of two individuals crawling out of a grave...it was Frank and Alice Longbottom. Or rather...their bodies" Sirius said sounding very upset.

Harry knew that his uncles and father had got on very well with Frank Longbottom and they had even been friends while not being best friends.

Harry felt horrified. Two people who had been heroes of the First Wizarding War and who had died in the fight against Voldemort the second time round being turned into servants of Voldemort made him furious and very sad for Neville as he thought how best to tell He and Hermione about it.

"There was one more report" said Sirius. Harry noticed that his godfather was walking across the office to his seat.

He frowned as Sirius stood next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry suddenly realised what his godfather was going to tell him and wasn't sure that he wanted to hear it "Harry I don't even know how to say this but..." Sirius sighed heavily as he went round to face his godson "Harry there was a report of something crawling out of a grave in Godric's Hollow an hour ago...I'm sorry Harry but the grave said Lily Potter".

Harry felt frozen in place as his godfather spoke the dread words and he wasn't sure how to react as a whole spectrum of emotions began to spin through his mind. At first he felt angry, then he felt upset, then he just felt like running.

Harry swallowed hard as he said in a voice of deadly calm "he turned my mother into...an Inferi?".

Sirius looked at him and seemed nervous but he confirmed "yes...it seems he did...I'm so sorry Harry".

Harry jumped to his feet "that's it!" he yelled "he's gone too fucking far this time!".

Harry turned round and stormed off to the office doors completely forgetting the reason he'd been in the office in the first place.

"Harry come back!" his godfather shouted after him and Harry heard running footsteps as Sirius tried to catch up but Harry was faster due to his Seeker reflexes and constant duelling practise. He managed to outrun Sirius and reached spiral staircase before his uncle had even reached the hallway.

As he descended he felt burning hot anger seething within him. He'd been angry when he heard about the Grangers and Frank and Alice Longbottom but this...this was the last straw. He decided he couldn't let this war go on any longer.

He had to start taking people down now and he knew just where to start. His nemesis Theodore Nott was now a Deatheater and hadn't returned to Hogwarts. He would find the son of a bitch force him to give the location of his dear old dad and then...Nott was a dead man. Once he found Nott Sr he'd get to Voldemort. He knew that old Snake Face would be hiding wherever that lump of blubber was.

He ran all the way along corridors, down staircases and up other staircases. He ignored Filch when the cantankerous old Caretaker tried to admonish him for running in the halls merely saying "sod off Filch!" as he ran.

In no time at all he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and called out "wizards defiance" before she'd even had time to say "password!" in that imperious voice of hers "you may pass" she said somewhat testily as the portrait swung aside to admit him.

He entered the common room and barely noticed the rest of the New Marauders sitting in a cluster on several chairs and sofa's near the fireplace "Harry how'd the meeting go?" Ron called out.

Harry ignored him as he ran past them and up the staircase to the Seventh Year boys dorm. He heard a voice say "don't worry. I'll talk to him" and knew his brother would be here in a minute to find out for certain what was going on. He said over the link "please Draco don't bother talking to me I'm in a hurry".

"Just stay in the dorm room and don't do anything rash" came the reply "I'm on my way up".

A few moments later he could hear footsteps on the stairs. He turned his attention back to gathering up useful objects and stuffing them into his bottomless school bag as he prepared to leave. The door opened and closed. A voice called out calmly "going somewhere brother mine?".

Harry sighed and turned round "I'm going Draco. Just leave me to it".

His brother frowned "I can usually read your thoughts but they're such a mess right now I couldn't get anything other than the feeling that you were pissed off...very pissed off".

Harry snorted and said "pissed off is a bit of an understatement right now" he kept putting foe glasses, sneakoscopes, dung bombs, books and more into his school bag.

His brother was looking at him in concern "Harry what the hell has happened to make you this upset?".

Harry paused in the act of putting things in his bag and turned to face his brother "I was speaking to Dumbledore when he told me that Voldemort's been creating Inferi" said Harry.

"Like the First War?" his brother said.

Harry nodded "just like the First War. They don't know how many Voldemort has created but they reckon it's a lot".

"Ok I could see why that would upset you but why...".

"Because it's not just strangers this has been done to Draco" said Harry tersely "it's Hermione's parents...and Neville's parents".

"Jesus Christ!" exclaimed Draco in shock "are you saying he turned..."

"Yes" Harry said shortly "Voldemort has created Inferi out of Mr and Mrs Granger and Mr and Mrs Longbottom".

"Bloody hell" Draco breathed as he sat down on Harry's bed "how are we going to break the news?".

"Well since you're here...you can do it while I finish packing" said Harry.

"Harry this is really upset sure and I get that you want to avenge our friends parents but..."

"He did it to my mum alright?!" Harry snapped as he threw down the school bag.

Draco fell silent. What he had been about to say seemed to have died on his lips "there was a report tonight of something or someone crawling out a grave in the Godric's Hollow churchyard" said Harry "it was my mum's grave...Lily Potter...he...he turned her..." despite his furious attempts Harry could not hold off the tears now as he sank down onto his bed and began to cry quietly at first but it increased in volume and intensity until the soft sobbing became a full on howl of despair. He felt completely broken inside. He heard footsteps and someone come to sit next to him. The next he knew he was being drawn into a warm hug and he sobbed miserably into his brothers shoulder.

More footsteps sounded from what seemed like a mile away and he distantly heard the sound of a door opening "we just wanted to check..." began a voice that soon cut off. Harry was distantly aware that it was Ron who had spoken.

The next voice he heard was Ginny's "Harry my love!" she cried out and he soon found someone else comforting him as he felt the calming presence wash over him "can you look after Harry?" his brother asked.

"Of course" Ginny replied as Draco relinquished the hug and Harry felt himself drawn into another one and relaxed into the warm embrace of his girlfriend, his fiancee.

He could hear voices as Draco began to tell the others what had been said by Sirius. He could hear Hermione crying as she was told about her parents and he looked away from Ginny long enough see her being wrapped in a hug by Ron while the same thing happened to an ashen faced Neville who was hugged by Luna and received pats on the shoulder in comfort from Draco who also comforted Hermione.

Harry could feel his reckless urge to go after Nott and the other Deatheaters subsiding. He began to realise just what a harebrained scheme it was. He'd not planned anything. He'd have just rushed in blindly and then what?...probably been caught. Possibly been killed 'god what an idiot' he thought to himself roughly 'why do I have to be so impulsive?'.

"Please tell me you weren't about to dash off after Voldemort" Ginny said softly and with a lot of worry in her voice.

Harry looked into her chocolate brown eyes "I was" he admitted feeling embarrassed and ashamed of himself "I'm sorry my love. I know it would have been stupid".

"Oh my darling" she said sadly "I can't see and feel how much this is breaking you up inside and I promise you that evil git and his minion will pay soon enough but you would have been playing into their hands" Ginny said wisely.

Harry sighed "I know. I promise I won't try to dash off like that again" his fiancee smiled "good" she kissed him on the lips "because I don't ever want to be without you my brave Har Har".

Harry grinned a little at the nickname, kissed her back and said "you never will be".

* * *

That next night Dumbledore had called a special full meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. It was to be the inner circle only, something which was very unusual as most meetings had all Order members not on mission being in attendance.

Harry and his friends and brother were seven of the first people to arrive for it and spoke to Professors Dumbledore, Hagrid, McGonagall and Pettigrew.

"Why is it only the inner circle Professor?" Ron asked Dumbledore curiously.

The old wizard was absent his usual twinkle "given the subject of this particular meeting Ron and given the previous betrayals of the Order by trusted people it is advisable I believe to restrict things to those I know for certain would never leak this information deliberately".

"I assume you're taking certain precautions Professor" Harry said knowingly.

"As we've discussed before Harry I have implemented your suggestion of all Order members taking an unbreakable vow not to reveal information unless I give permission" the old wizard answered with a slight smile.

Harry nodded in satisfaction feeling happy that one of his main suggestions had been implemented. After the shocking betrayal by John Dawlish an Auror and trusted Order member it had become more necessary than ever to keep things secure and as a result there were now code words and many more protocols in place.

More and more important Order members arrived including Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks and Remus, Sirius, Harry's Dad James, Celia, Janice and Lucy and of course one of the most important of all in the form of Minister of Magic - 'god that sounds strange' thought Harry - Arthur Weasley with his wife Molly and sons Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and Percy and Bill's wife Fleur.4

"Minister it is good of you to join us I know how very busy you are" said Dumbledore as Minister Weasley entered the room.

Mr clearly still felt a bit embarrassed at the term as he replied "please Albus, none in this room need call me Minister, I am the same Arthur Weasley I have always been".

Harry smiles at that. It is that very humble attitude that has made his best friends Dad such a good Minister precisely because he doesn't want people bowing and scraping and only promotes those good at their job.

Once everyone was settled down in their seats Dumbledore stood and surveyed the room seriously over his half moon spectacles."Fellow members of the Order of the Phoenix I have requested your attendance at this meeting for something of great import has occurred. I shall allow our esteemed Head of the Auror Squad Mr James Potter to explain".

Dumbledore sat down and nodded to Harry's Dad who stood up, cleared his throat and said "just yesterday we began to get reports of creatures not seen since the First Wizarding War" James told the assembled room "I regret to inform you all that these reports have all been checked, double checked and tripled checked, they have been verified as accurate. My friends we now have to deal...with Inferi".

The murmur in the room grew steadily amongst those who had not already been told. For many of the Order members this was a new and very alarming development for it was one thing to fight Deatheaters, Dementors and even Voldemort himself but these Inferi could very well be the reanimated bodies of loved ones.

"The first confirmed reports we had were of the bodies of...of Frank and Alice Longbottom...rising to join Voldemort's ranks" James said in a choked voice.

Harry knew his Dad was thinking of the two top Aurors who had only ever fought for right and justice. It was an outrage to Harry that Voldemort had done this.

"The next report showed that Mr and Mrs Granger, Hermione..." he looked to Hermione for a second and smiled sadly "Hermione's parents bodies have been resurrected. This was followed by...by..." James couldn't say anymore. He fell down into his seat with his head in his hands. Harry rushed from his seat and went over to comfort him followed shortly by Draco and Molly.

Sirius stood up from his position next James and gave his best friend, his brother a reassuring pat on the back "as James was saying the next report of Inferi rising was at the...the Godric's Hollow graveyard".

Many people murmured at that due to it being the resting place of poor Lily Potter "yes my friends" said Sirius correctly guessing their murmuring "I am very sad to say that the body of Lily Potter did indeed rise from her grave to join Voldemort's cause".

There were cries of shock and horror from the assembled Order members. Professor McGonagall who did not ordinarily get emotional over things was openly weeping at the desecration of such kind people committed by such an evil wizard. Beside her Hagrid was howling a miserable lament.

Sirius, however, was not done with his information "I am afraid to say that is not all" everyone save the Ministry personnel looked shocked "today we have had more reports of Inferi rising which have been confirmed by Aurors and other Order members locally" Sirius turned to Dumbledore "Albus..." he began "I...I don't...quite know how to say this but...a body rose from her grave in Godric's Hollow this evening...it looked exactly like that of your sister".

Harry, from his position comforting his father stared at Dumbledore who had gone white as milk. He looked as if he'd been hit by a bolt of lightning.

For long moments the old wizard just stood there. He then sank into his chair and actually began to weep.

Everyone in the room was stunned. Dumbledore was always the most calm and composed of any of them. There had been a few times when he had got angry over something but never, NEVER, had they seen the old wizard break down like this "poor Ariana" he mumbled "all my fault...shouldn't have died...my selfishness" he mumbled this over and over.

Harry who had been told by Dumbledore before of his family history knew to what the Headmaster was referring and felt very sad for him.

Hermione, Ginny and Luna all went over to comfort the old man as did a confused Ron who rubbed Dumbledore's back trying his best to provide support.

After some time Dumbledore seemed to come back to himself as did Harry's Dad "please forgive me everyone" the old wizard said apologetically. This was waved off by the room with most declaring they understood.

"The meeting went on for a short time longer before breaking up. Once most everyone had departed Harry walked up to Dumbledore and asked "Professor...are you alright now?" Dumbledore shook his head "not right now Harry" he replied "but I will be...once I've spoken to my brother".

"Your brother Aberforth?" Harry guessed given he'd not been told of any other brothers. Dumbledore nodded "the two of us should have had a proper chat about everything decades ago but I am rather afraid to say that my shame and disgust at my role in Ariana's death was too great and I could not bring myself to speak to my brother before now...with the information revealed tonight..." Dumbledore sighed and truly looked his age then "I believe it is now time" he said before leaving the room. Harry stared after him feeling very sorry for him and for Aberforth.

* * *

Following the horrible revelations of September the rest of that month went by quickly as did the month of October. Very soon it was the one day in the year that Harry truly hated. The one day he did not celebrate and wished would just end. It was Halloween.

This year it was even worse. All Harry could think when he got up on that morning of the 31st was of his mother Lily and the fact she'd been reanimated as an Inferi. It had been bad enough she dead but for such sacrilege to happen to someone who'd fought so long and hard for the light just made the day even more depressing in Harry's eyes.

The day passed in something of a blur for Harry who took little notice in lessons and had little appetite during lunch.

When classes ended at four thirty pm he headed over to his Uncle Peter's office on the First Floor of the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower near Professor McGonagall's Office.

As he walked along his heels dragged. He felt a lead weight in his stomach.

He reached the DADA classroom and knocked loudly on the door "come on in" his uncle called out in his slightly squeaky voice.

Harry pushed the door open. He found his uncle sat at his desk looking over papers "hello Harry" his uncle said with a sad smile "I'm just grading papers. I'll floo with you back to the Manor in a little bit, ok?".

Harry nodded. He wasn't even sure if he really wanted to go to Godric's Hollow considering the grave would be empty. But he did know that he wanted to be there for his Dad.

Harry had no idea how long he'd sat at one of the desks deep in thought but he was eventually broken out of his thoughts by a voice "Harry, time to go". He looked up and saw that his uncle had shuffled the graded parchment and placed it on a neat pile on the desk.

He sighed, stood up and followed his uncle up the stairs and into his uncle's office. Before they made to floor to the Manor his uncle put his hands on Harry's shoulders and said "I understand you're feeling really upset today Harry. It's only natural given what day it is and what has happened but you can't give up, understand?. You have to go. It's what your mother would want. If you see the thing posing as your mother don't be fooled and keep your guard up because it isn't her" he warned Harry seriously.

Harry nodded and his uncle pulled him into a hug as he cried a little. He felt annoyed with himself for shedding tears given that he was seventeen now and in his mind crying was only for kids "you have nothing to be ashamed over" his uncle told him "it doesn't make you weak. On the contrary the ability to care so much you are moved to tears is what makes you human and separates you from those Deatheaters and especially Voldemort".

Harry felt a lot better at this and replied "thanks Uncle Wormtail. You always know what to say to cheer me up".

His uncle ruffled his hair and grinned "think nothing of it Prongslet. It's what I'm here for".

As they flooed to the Manor Harry much better about visiting the Godric's Hollow graveyard that evening.

When Harry and Peter arrived in the Marauder Manor drawing-room Peter used Scourgify on themselves to clean themselves up.

As Harry began to walk across the room he was grabbed in a fierce hug by someone with short curly hair and smiled "hey David" he said as his brother held him tightly.

When they pulled apart David said "it's great to see you Harry...I just wish it was a happier reason for you being here".

Harry nodded sadly "me too kiddo, me too".

Harry wasn't surprised to see no one else there. Everyone else would be at work or Hogwarts and the House Elves would be watching over the Twins.

Harry and Peter settled down on the sofa for a bit and chatted about the upcoming Quidditch match against Slytherin which, Peter pointed out, would be Harry's last one against that House "I'm expecting a win from you over them" his uncle joked "of course...as a teacher I'm not supposed to be biased but...you get them".

Harry chuckled at this "well we've been training hard" he replied "so hard in fact I think the rest of the team will be glad when it's all over".

His uncle guffawed "I'm sure they will be" he replied in amusement.

The two of them were just finishing off a cold bottle of butter beer each when the flames in the fireplace changed from orange to green and Harry's Dad stepped out looking harassed. His expression changed when he saw Harry and Peter "hi Peter, hey son" he said as he stepped forward and embraced them both with a hug.

Once they pulled apart Peter said "well I'll see you back at Hogwarts later Harry" Harry smiled "see you later Prongs old boy" he said to Harry's Dad as he headed for the fireplace.

James rolled his eyes "I'm the only one he calls **old boy**" his Dad complained. Harry saw through the complaining and grinned as he knew his Dad didn't really mind at all especially since he and the others all called Wormtail "Wormy" a lot of the time.

"Ready for the off then?" his Dad asked as they approached the fireplace. Harry nodded "ready" he replied. His Dad clapped him on the shoulder, gave him a smile and the two of them stepped into the fireplace.

His Dad took a handful of floo powder, called out "St Bernard's Church, Godric's Hollow!" and threw down the powder which caused them both to disappear in a whoosh of flame.

When they stepped out of the fireplace Harry felt glad that the New Ministry at Hogwarts had managed to seize control of the floo network and keep it safe from the Deatheaters as for Harry there were few more secure ways to travel.

He moved to step out of the fireplace only just realising as he did so that it was unusually dark in the old church "wait" his father said quietly and cautiously.

James stepped out first, pointed his wand out and muttered "Lumos". It seemed he had been right to think that something was up as the Vicar's living quarters were a complete mess.

Tables had been overturned, vases and glasses smashed, the bookshelves destroyed and the door into the main church had been blasted off it's hinges.

Harry whipped out his wand and kept it at the ready as he moved forward alongside his Dad. Both were feeling very tense.

They reached the door into the main part of the church building "kick it open and stand back" his Dad instructed. Harry didn't argue. He strode forward, kicked the door open and stood back to allow the more experience wizard to go first.

As Harry walked through the doorway he found a light switch. He flicked it and it turned on all of the lights illuminating the whole church.

The scene in here was no less devastating than in the Vicar's living area with pews, the altar and other sections partially or wholly damaged "there's been some kind of fight here" his Dad concluded.

"Dad...there's someone lying on the floor" Harry hissed quietly as he pointed the person out.

They moved forward a short way and James said "that's the Vicar!" they ran forward and were soon beside the prone figure.

James knelt down and checked the man over. He had a pulse and his chest rose and fell "lets get him sat up" he told his son. Harry rushed to help and together the two managed to get the Vicar onto an undamaged pew.

James slapped the man's face a few times and shook him slightly. The man revived "oh...thank goodness it's you" he said weakly "I thought it might be those Deatheaters back again".

"Deatheaters? here?" James said sharply now keenly alert again "where?".

The man shook his head "left. They left earlier. Said I didn't have it".

"Have what?" James frowned.

The man shook his head "don't know" he moaned.

James sighed and said "will you be alright now?" the man nodded "go. I'll be fine" he replied.

James lingered for a moment "go" the man repeated "I'm alright, I promise. Thank you for the help".

"Think nothing of it" James said with a smile as he shook hands with the man.

He and Harry left the church not seeing the man grinning evilly behind them.

"Do you think he'll really be alright?" Harry asked his Dad in concern "he looked very beat up".

James sighed "who know's Harry? I mean his injuries aren't life threatening but he could be badly hurt mentally".

The two of them reached the familiar grave of Lily Potter. It was a weird feeling for Harry as there were flowers on top of the well kept grave and it had been filled in...and yet Harry knew it was empty having only been filled back in so as not to confuse the local Muggles.

They had been sitting there by the grave for ten minutes when Harry had a feeling of something coming up behind them. This should not have alarmed him but the hairs on the back of his neck began to prickle as a sixth sense told him beware the individual behind them "James...Harry" the figure said softly and hoarsely "come to me".

Harry saw his Dad tense up and they looked at each other. His Dad was white as a sheet and Harry was certain he looked no different "what do we do?" Harry asked feeling really really upset.

James thought for a moment "Wormtail told me you learned the Incendio spell in your last lesson" Harry nodded. For a moment he couldn't see where his Dad was going with it and then it clicked in his mind "you can't be serious!" he almost shouted "that's...that's Mum there!" he said feeling close to tears.

His father closed his eyes for a moment trying to blink away tears before he opened them and replied "Harry, listen to me. That is not your mother standing behind us. Not my deceased wife. Lily is...she's...she's dead" his father forced out sadly but firmly "nothing can bring her back. We must use that spell to destroy the dark magic in her body and allow her to rest in peace".

Harry felt lost and afraid "I don't...I don't think I can do it" he said miserably. His Dad grasped his shoulders gently but firmly "you have to" he said seriously "you wouldn't want this for Lily, for your Mother would you?".

Harry's resolution hardened "no" he said firmly "lets do it".

His father nodded in satisfaction at his son's reply and the two of them readied their wands "on the count of three" his dad said "one, two...three!".

They wheeled around and both yelled "Incendio!" but the figure was not there. It had moved!.

Just then Harry felt a jarring pain in his leg as he was tackled to the ground "argh!" he cried out as a figure hovered over him. It had flowing red hair and green eyes "nooooo" Harry moaned weakly "no".

The figure moved closer "no!" roared a voice from nearby and Harry saw his father run at the figure and jump into them knocking them over.

Harry felt frozen. After a few moments he tried to stand but his leg gave out on him "bugger it!" he swore irritably and looked over at his father in desperation.

James had managed to fire one spell but the Inferi's firm grip on his wrist had caused the spell to go wide of the mark and impact a gravestone instead.

Harry felt helpless. Not only couldn't he stand he wasn't sure if the spell would stop the Inferi.

'I have to try!' he told himself sternly. He couldn't just do nothing while this dark creature impersonated his mother and destroyed his father.

Ignoring the jarring pain in his leg he stood up just as the Inferi knocked his father's wand from his hand "get away from my dad!" Harry roared as he released all of his pent up rage and grief.

The Inferi was distracted from it's assault on James and turned. Harry stared it down coldly. A burning desire was within him to destroy this...thing!.

The Inferi released his father and started towards him. Harry backed away until the creature had closed in enough to be safely away from Harry's dad "how dare you use my mothers body!" he bellowed in fury. All of his suppressed anger flowed from him as he yelled "Incendio!" the spell hit the Inferi right in the midsection and soon the creature had been swallowed up in bright orange flames.

Harry watched in relief, horror and sadness as the body burned down to ash and the Inferi was gone for good.

He sank to his knees and wept.

"Well, well, well" said a drawling voice with amusement "aren't we the coldblooded killer Potter".

Harry turned and saw through his tears the familiar tall, arrogant form of Theodore Nott. What surprised him was that the bastard was not alone. Next to him not making a sound, barely breathing was a figure with a long blonde hair, stained with dirt and matted.

It was Lucius Malfoy. A man Harry had only ever seen in pensieve memories. Before he could say anything he received the second surprise "surprised to see me boy?" Malfoy smiled coldly "I expect you are. And I imagine you are wondering how I have my soul back" he said triumphantly as the man raised his wand "too bad for you I do not have time to explain before I kill you!".

* * *

Authors Note: Well everyone, I hope you enjoyed reading that chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.


	58. Chapter 58

Disclaimer: Everything Potter related belongs to JK Rowling

* * *

Chapter Fifty Eight: The churchyard, Gryffindor vs Slytherin

**Authors Note: This chapter contains some swearing so just be warned anyone who doesn't like bad language.**

**I'd also like to give shoutouts to both fhl1234, urf and Alexfleener24 for their kind reviews on some of my most recent chapters. This chapter is dedicated to you three and to all my other wonderful readers. Hope you all enjoy it. **

* * *

Harry was stunned. In fact, he wasn't just stunned he was horror-struck. He simply could not believe the person standing before him was Lucius Malfoy. 'How the hell is this possible?' he thought to himself in disbelief.

He knew that Malfoy had declared it was some sort of dark magic. No doubt he'd had his soul returned to him by Voldemort so it had most likely been a dark ceremony, perhaps even of the same kind that had resurrected Voldemort in Little Hangleton.

Harry decided that he needed to play for time. Time for his father to recover from the attack and time for him to prevent Lucius Malfoy killing him.

If it had happened back in June Harry would have been laughing at Malfoy as he couldn't have been killed then but now...now he was without the Horcrux inside him that oddly enough had been a kind of protection just as much as a problem.

"How can you be back?" Harry asked in an attempt to delay things "you said it was dark magic but I've never heard of such a thing".

His question had the desired effect as the arrogant pureblood laughed coldly "of course you haven't heard of it Potter" he sneered "I don't imagine that old fool Dumbledore teaches such things at his _precious school_" from the way Malfoy had spoke about Hogwarts it was clear what he thought of the school.

Harry knew then just what he had to do. He'd rile the man up "you sneer about that place but it's the greatest seat of wizarding learning there has been for a thousand years" Harry declared "or do forget you went there once?".

Malfoy laughed "oh no Potter I do not forget. Seven years of my existence I wasted on that place and for what? they didn't teach me anything my own father Abraxus did not".

"How to use the Unforgivable Curses no doubt" Harry replied coldly "yes it's obvious you knew the theory of those before even coming to Hogwarts...Lucy" he smirked at that last bit.

"How dare you!" Malfoy shouted 'it's working' thought Harry in amusement. They were all the same these Deatheaters...no sense of humour "aw what's the matter Lucy? don't like your new nickname?".

"You dare boy" the man said in a quietly dangerous voice "you dare insult me?. Me who is head of one of the oldest wizarding families in Britain?".

This time Harry had to laugh. He couldn't help it "maybe you are one of the oldest families" Harry conceded "but" he continued "your line is finished. You are the last of the Malfoy's and once you're dead that's it".

"My son is a Malfoy!" Malfoy snarled furiously.

Again Harry laughed "your son?. Reality check Lucy. You have no son. Your wife signed him over to my Godfather Sirius Black. He's the heir to the Black family fortune while you...you have no heir to succeed you".

"That's enough!" bellowed Malfoy "you die now Potter!".

"Stop wasting time and just kill him!" Nott shouted sounding nervous as cast glances round the graveyard.

"Avada Kedavra!" Malfoy roared. Harry ducked and rolled causing the spell to sail over him and smash with a sharp blast into the churchyard wall "can't take you anywhere can I Lucy, without you destroying things" Harry japed as he fired back "Titillando!" Malfoy dodged it and the spell hit the unsuspecting Nott who immediately began howl with laughter, unable to stop himself. He began to roll on the floor banging his hands about.

In between the laughs he spluttered "get. This. Spell. Off. Me. Malfoy!".

Malfoy turned his attention to Nott and muttered the counter-curse enabling Nott to function again only to have to dodge the Bombarda spell which missed him by mere inches and blasted the graveyard gate to smithereens.

As Nott and Malfoy fired back a new wand and a new, much welcome voice entered the fray "Tarantallegra" his father called out calmly.

Malfoy, unable to dodge **both **Harry's Jelly Legs Jinx and the other spell found that, without any warning, his legs began to jerk about uncontrollably "what the hell?!" he cried out both sounding furious and concerned.

"He's used a spell on your legs!" Nott shouted "hang on!" Nott aimed his wand at Malfoy and cried out "Finite Incantatem!" the jerking of Malfoy's legs stopped but once again they had to dodge more spells being fired at them.

"They're weakening!" Harry shouted triumphantly as he and his dad kept firing.

They managed to hit Malfoy with a Full Body Bind causing his arms and legs to snap to the sides and him to pitch forward completely paralysed "screw this!" they heard Nott mutter as he raced to Malfoy, dodged their spell fire and threw something down.

Harry recognised it almost immediately as Peruvian Instant Darkness powder. It was the very same stuff Nott had used to previous year to get the Deatheaters and Voldemort himself inside the castle in their attempts to kill Harry and Dumbledore and their successful effort to eliminate Severus Snape "no!" Harry yelled in frustration as he knew what would happen now.

He raced into the blackness of the powder as his father shouted "Harry no!".

Harry found himself plunged into inky blackness. It was as if he was stuck inside an immensely large and very dark rain cloud. He could see nothing, not even his hands in front of his face.

From somewhere ahead he heard the familiar "crack" of Disapparation and swore loudly "shit!". He knew they had got away. He'd failed to catch them and he was furious with himself as both would have been very valuable prisoners and Nott in the very least would have been able to provide much intel.

The powder vanished and Harry was able to see again "Harry!" his father shouted in obvious relief and as Harry turned he found himself being swallowed up in a massive hug "I thought something awful had happened!" he said as he checked Harry over for injuries".

"I'm fine Dad" Harry said hollowly "but Nott and Malfoy got away" he felt miserable.

"I don't care about those two maniacs" his father said impatiently "I only care about you. As long as you are alright then nothing else matters".

"But..they'd have talked" Harry argued "they'd have been useful prisoners".

His dad "maybe they would have been. Maybe they wouldn't but that doesn't matter right now. We need to get ourselves back to Hogwarts and get checked over by Madam Pomfrey and then we need to speak to Dumbledore...he's going to want to know about all this" his father said seriously.

Harry looked at his father "dad...how is he back?...Malfoy I mean?" he asked feeling confused.

His father shook his head "I really have no idea son" he replied sounding confused himself "come on...lets get back into the church...I need to call Sirius so he can find the REAL Vicar".

"That wasn't the real Vicar in there?" Harry asked feeling alarmed "who was it then?".

"Well...if I had to guess...I'd say it was Nott under Polyjuice potion. They must have figured out our schedule and come here to deal with the real Vicar".

"We'd better find him then!" Harry cried out as he tried to run towards the church. His leg gave out. He'd not noticed it much in the fighting...probably due to the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins "agh!" he cried out as his leg gave way and he fell "damn it!" he shouted in frustration.

"We need to get you back to Hogwarts...now" his dad said firmly. Harry didn't argue.

James hauled his son to his feet, placed Harry's arm over his shoulder and helped him through the churchyard and into the wrecked church.

Once they were in the Vicar's living quarters he took a handful of floo powder, threw it down and called out "Auror Headquarters, Ministry of Magic" as the floo only recognised the new Ministry at Hogwarts he didn't have to worry about it redirecting.

He stuck his head into the fireplace and felt the familiar uncomfortable sensation of it spinning round and round before he coughed slightly and looked round his office. He saw a lone figure sitting at his desk. The person was hunched over and seemed to be doing something. He recognised that from the curly black hair it was Sirius. "Pads" he called out. The figure didn't hear him "Padfoot" he called out again. Still no response "PADFOOT!" he yelled loudly.

The figure in the chair jumped, fell off his chair and landed on his side "what...what the bloody hell" he coughed out "Prongs?!".

"Yes you idiot it's me!" James hissed "look. There's been an attack on the church here. We don't know where the Vicar is but someone impersonated him, we were attacked by an Inferi using...using Lily's body and then Theodore Nott and...Lucius Malfoy..." the words sounded strange to him and he could tell by the stunned look on his best friends face that the details were equally unbelievable to him too "they attacked us before escaping".

"Lucius..." began Sirius only to be cut off "never mind asking questions, get here with some Aurors and search for the real Vicar" James instructed "Harry has badly hurt his leg so I need to get him checked over right now" said James "I'll speak to you later".

Though Sirius looked alarmed at the thought of Harry being hurt he nodded "I'll get right on it" he promised. James broke the connection and went back to Harry.

"Come on son" he said in a worried tone as he placed one of Harry's arms over his shoulder again, took some floo powder and staggered into the fireplace.

Once inside he called out "Headmasters Office, Hogwarts!" and immediately threw the powder down. He and Harry left the church in roughly the same way they'd arrived.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore was sat at his desk that night having just come back from a magnificent dinner in the Great Hall.

He could still taste the succulent chicken he'd eaten alongside his favourite vegetables of parsnips, swede, carrots and broccoli with potatoes and onion gravy. He could also taste the wonderful chocolate gateau, his favourite dessert, that had appeared in front of him.

He sighed as he glanced down at the paperwork he was having to go over as he realised he'd be working away for hours.

Without warning, there was a whooshing sound from the fireplace. Feeling surprised as he hadn't expected Harry back tonight he turned at the sound and his eyes widened in shock as he saw his friend James Potter staggering out of the fireplace with his son Harry "good heavens!" Albus exclaimed in surprise. He was by nature a very calm man that wasn't easily shocked but he cared a great deal about Harry seeing him as the grandson he'd never have and about James as well who was like a son to him.

He pushed his chair back, stood up and rushed (or at least as fast as his 116 year old body could) over to the two Potters to help them.

He was soon at Harry and James' side. He conjured a sofa and helped Harry over to it. James sat down next to his son. Both looked absolutely worn out "what on earth has happened?" Albus asked them both in concern as he wondered just what could have made them this dishevelled and tired.

For a long moment neither father or son spoke and then James broke the silence with a long, tired sigh "when we reached the church we found it smashed up" he began "and we searched for the Vicar who we...we found...or at least...thought we'd found".

James stood up and began pacing clearly unable to sit still "but it seems now it wasn't really the Vicar at all but a Deatheater posing as him by use of Polyjuice. Those Deatheaters are good Albus if will you pardon the pun. They knew we would be there tonight and used that against us".

"You said Deatheaters" Albus cut in softly "which Deatheaters?".

"If you don't mind Albus" said replied James "we'll get there in a minute but first I need to tell you something...something awful" Albus noted the way his friend and former student shuddered as he spoke. Whatever had happened tonight must be really bad to unnerve someone with as much inner strength as that which James Potter possessed.

"You recall our most recent Order meeting in which we discussed Inferi and the recent one's summoned by Voldemort" Albus nodded "of course" he replied calmly though a heavy weight was settling in his stomach "well Myself and Harry had to do battle with one tonight and not just any Inferi..." James paused for a moment and as Albus mind caught up his eyes widened. He breathed "Lily".

James nodded looking weary and sad beyond words "but it wasn't...I didn't..." Albus could see how bad his friend was handling this and rushed to get him a glass of firewhiskey.

The moment he handed it to James it was gone, gulped down in one go. Albus was astonished "it was Harry" James said sadly "he had to save me...to...to kill the Inferi...to destroy his mothers body".

Albus closed his eyes as a wave of emotions hit him. It had been one thing for Lily to have died but for Harry and James to have had to fight an Inferi using her body. To have to destroy the body...he shuddered at the thought of it.

Albus opened his eyes and flicked them from James to Harry and he said sincerely "I am so sorry that this happened to you both tonight" he sighed as tears rolled down his cheeks "I'd give anything for the two of you to not have to go through this" he realised that his normal composure was cracking and he was actually weeping. He moved over Harry on the sofa as James moved to stand near his son "I know that I have never said this before but...the two of you and the rest of the Marauder Clan are like family to me" he chuckled "in fact...considering my only remaining blood relative is Aberforth you are practically the only family I have".

Harry and James both exchanged a look at this, nodded to each other and then as Harry rose with a grimace trying to ignore his bad leg. The two of them walked to Albus and embraced him in a hug.

The three men stood there for a short time hugging and taking comfort from each other as the nights events fully sank in. It was only when Harry cried out and his injured leg gave way that the hug was broken. Albus gazed over his half-moon spectacles at Harry a serious and concerned look on his lined face "Harry you must go to the Hospital Wing" he said with a hint of worry in his tone as he and James helped Harry to his feet "we'll take you".

Not leaving Harry any time to protest Albus put one of Harry's arms over his shoulder while James did the same with the other arm and the two men staggered from the office just managing to keep the tall and muscular Harry upright.

When they reached the Hospital Wing some time later and the doors banged open an anxious Madam Pomfrey came into view. She looked initially annoyed at the noise as she had a few patients in the Hospital Wing "what is all this noi..." she began only to pause as she took in the bedraggled and exhausted states of James and Harry and the obviously tear stained eyes of the Headmaster "what on earth has happened!" she exclaimed in concern for them.

"I'll explain when Harry's been seen to Madam Pomfrey" James told her tiredly.

"You'll be seen to as well James Potter" she replied sternly as she waggled a finger in his face, though she looked briefly amused at still being called "Madam Pomfrey" even though James was a fully grown wizard and Head of the Auror Squads.

Albus watched on a amusement as James tried to explain that he was fine. That it was Harry who needed the Medi-Witches ministrations not he. The middle aged witch would not hear of it however and gave him a full examination to be sure he was physically fine before she examined Harry "hmm" she murmured as she went along "oh...oh dear...oh very nasty. You poor dear" she said to Harry.

When she was finished she spoke to Harry first who was still grimacing in pain "it's a broken leg I'm afraid Mr Potter" she said softly.

Harry nodded "can you fix it up now please Madam Pomfrey?".

The Medi-Witch smiled as did Albus. Harry had always been polite to the witch even if she did nag some times "of course I can dear" she said kindly "you just wait here Mr Potter and I'll get a painkilling potion".

With that the witch headed off to her office and the sound of clinking vials could be heard as she bustled about.

She returned a few moments later with a vial of orange liquid clutched carefully in her hands. She un-stoppered and handed it to Harry who sniffed and gagged at the smell "it's worse than I remember" he said hoarsely as he tipped his head back and downed the contents in one long gulp.

When he was done Madam Pomfrey set the empty vial down on the table in front of Harry's bed "I will now fix your leg Mr Potter" she said with a slight smile "you shouldn't feel any pain" Harry nodded as she aimed her wand at Harry's leg "Bonus Reparos!" she called out clearly.

Albus watched on as he heard something crack and then heard Harry sigh as he gave a thumbs up to Madam Pomfrey "it worked" he said "thank you Madam Pomfrey" he added gratefully.

She went to his side fluffed up his pillow and patted his shoulder "you're quite welcome Mr Potter" she replied "though I hope not to see you in here again" she added sternly.

"I hope I won't be" Harry replied quietly.

That night as he lay in his bed in Gryffindor Tower he couldn't sleep no matter how hard he tried. The events of the night played over and over in his mind like some looped film reel.

He couldn't get over the fact that he'd had to burn his mother's body to ash. He knew it had not been her that had spoken. Had not been her at all but merely an Inferi posing as her. That didn't make him feel any better about it though.

And as if that hadn't been traumatic enough he'd had to explain to his brother upon his return to the Tower who he had seen in the Godric's Hollow churchyard. Who he'd fought against.

As he'd believed his brother though masking his fears behind his usual composure was rattled. Draco was sick with dread. His birth father was back and no doubt would try to sway him or if not sway him then try to kill him.

All in all it was a day that Harry wished had never happened and wished to just forget as he lamented the fact that so many bad things seemed to happen to him or those he loved on Halloween.

* * *

The weeks between Halloween and the 15th of November went by very quickly for Harry and the others, busy as they were with various things.

For Harry, Draco, Ron and Ginny who were on the Gryffindor first team and reserves respectively it was mainly Quidditch, though Head Boy/Prefect duties, classes and homework also took up a sizeable chunk of Harry's time as it did for Hermione being the Gryffindor Seventh Year Prefect.

For the past month Harry had upped both the frequency and intensity of his teams training sessions from a twice a week to seven days a week not compromising despite how much the others moaned.

For Harry this year was it. The big one. It was THE last year that he could get his hands on the famous old Quidditch trophy.

He may have won it several times before but his appetite for it was undiminished as he had only won it once as Captain and he wanted to end his Quidditch career with a bang.

The day of the Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff match finally rolled around and though Harry was nervous as he always was on match day he also held a quiet confidence in the abilities of himself and his team.

They had been incredible last year and he felt confident that with another year of experience behind them they would all do even better this season.

Right now Harry was deep in thought on a very important issue. As He, Ron and Draco were all leaving Hogwarts in June he had to recommend his choice for a new Captain to Professor McGonagall.

He knew he had a while but he felt that such a decision was better being made now than in June as by making the choice now he'd give the future Captain a chance to settle into the role, to get to know what would be expected of them. He even had in mind that the future Captain would lead some of the training session this year to get them prepared.

At this precise moment in time as he sat crunching his toast at his usual seat in the Great Hall he mulled over the four possible candidates for the position.

The first option was Jimmy Peakes one of the Beaters who Harry had picked for the team the previous year.

Almost immediately Harry dismissed the idea of appointing him as Jimmy had little Quidditch experience having only played in four matches so far.

It was this reasoning that saw Jimmy's friend Ritchie Cootes passed over as well.

Seamus was out due to the fact that he also would be leaving in June.

As Harry thought about it he realised that it came down to just two people. The first was Colin Creevey an excitable Sixth Year Muggleborn student who had hero worshipped Harry from before he'd even met him.

The second possibility was Harry's fiancee Ginny Weasley who was an incredibly talented Seeker as Harry had witnessed many times both in training at The Burrow.

Now Harry knew that Ginny was the more natural leader. She commanded a lot of respect and authority from her fellow students and could keep people in line.

It was these qualities that had him leaning towards the idea of naming her his replacement as Captain a decision he felt sure the rest of the team would endorse.

The problem came not from his team mates but from other students who would doubtless claim (wrongly) that Harry was only giving her the position due to the fact the two of them were in a relationship.

As Harry further pondered over what decision to make he knew he couldn't ask Ron his best friend as he would immediately say Ginny should be appointed. He couldn't talk to any of the others for this reason.

As a matter of fact the only one he could talk to about it was... "Hermione!" he shouted the name out loud and only realised he'd done so when she said "yes Harry?".

His eyes flicked over to Hermione's usual seat and he jumped as he saw her sitting there.

She looked at him with a mixture of concern and bemusement "everything alright Harry?" she asked in confusion.

Harry chuckled and nodded "yeah I'm fine Hermione" he said with a smile "you just startled me a bit that's all".

He sighed "actually..since you're here...do you mind if I talk to you about something?".

Hermione nodded as she buttered some toast "fire away" she said with a smile of her own.

Harry took a moment and then said "you know it's our last year here and my last year as Gryffindor team Captain".

Hermione nodded.

"Well the thing is that I obviously need to appoint a new team Captain and the two choices are Ginny or Colin Creevey".

"You know Ginny's the more natural leader but you're worried about the idea of favouritism because you're engaged to her" Hermione guessed right away and Harry gaped at her as he marvelled at her incredible knack of observation and being able to get to the heart of emotional issues.

He reflected, not for the first time, that she was not only the brightest witch of her age but also one of the most compassionate.

Harry nodded "that just about sums it up" he said "so what do you think I should do?".

Hermione was silent for a while and Harry knew she was thinking it all over in her analytical way. Finally she said "do you think Ginny is the best choice?".

"No question in my mind" replied Harry with full conviction "she's got the authority, she's got the respect of the team and most Gryffindor's and she definitely has the talent. I'm not just speaking as her boyfriend here either. I really think she's the best choice".

"That settles it then" said Hermione throwing her arms out and grinning "you need to speak to her and to Professor McGonagall and get it sorted out officially".

Harry nodded at these words. He was grateful to his best friend, for her reassurance "thanks for the chat Hermione" he said with gratitude.

She waved away his thanks "it wasn't a problem" she replied, though she beamed widely at the thanks.

A few hours later just before two o' clock kick off of Gryffindor vs Slytherin Harry found himself standing in front of his team in the changing rooms.

They were all changed and raring to go while his spirits had been lifted a weight taken off his mind following his chat with Hermione.

Shortly before the team had hit the changing rooms he'd asked Ginny to meet him outside the changing rooms after the game so he could talk to her.

"Right guys, this is it. The day we've all been working hard for" he said as he paced up and down "we've waited for two months to face these Slytherins. You all know what's riding on this match so there's no need for me to make a long speech. Come on up here and throw your hands in".

As one, the rest of the team stood and walked over to where Harry was standing.

They put their hands over his and Harry said "on the count of three. One, two...three...GRYFFINDOR!".

"GRYFFINDOR!" the other six players roared lustily.

Harry knew they were ready, they were willing. Gryffindor would win this match or die trying. He received nods of approval from Ron, Draco and Seamus as it was not just Harry's final chance to win the cup this year but there final chance as well.

"Lets go" said Harry simply as he picked up his broom and marched from the changing room followed by the rest of the team.

He emerged from the tunnel into bright sunlight and was thankful for the good weather as it would make the task of capturing the snitch that little bit easier to not be getting soaking wet while trying to do so.

As he and his team mates lined up on the pitch he heard the voice of the Gryffindor commentator Dennis Creevey call out "and out first today is the Gryffindor team!" three quarters of the Quidditch stands erupted in cheers, whistling and clapping as even the Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaws looked happy at the idea of Slytherin losing which was unsurprising given that Slytherin was usually the dirtiest team in the school.

Harry smiled at the commentary as Dennis called out the various player names.

He flicked his gaze up to the teachers stands where many of the Professors sat. He received a wink from his Uncle Peter and grinned and saw the corners of Professor McGonagall's mouth twitch upwards in the imitation of a smile.

However as he looked over at the new Head of Slytherin House Professor Slughorn the smile dropped from his face as he recalled the fact that his virtual Uncle Severus Snape would never see him play Quidditch again. He'd never be able to chat to him or to confide in him or get his help with anything.

It saddened him deeply that he'd never had the chance to say a proper goodbye.

Distantly he heard Dennis call out the names of the Slytherin players while getting in a few slight insults though nothing nasty.

Harry's mind snapped back to focus on the match as he stepped forward to where Madam Hooch stood as well as the new Slytherin Quidditch Captain Blaise Zabini who Harry knew had been appointed after Nott had not returned to Hogwarts.

"Harry" Blaise said politely as he extended a hand.

Harry knew the lack of warm was nothing personal and shook his opposite numbers hand "Blaise" he replied "good luck".

"And to you" Blaise replied.

The two returned to their respective teams, straddled their brooms and kicked off into the air.

Once again Harry found himself playing Quidditch. It was a sensation that few other things could match. The rush of the wind on his face and through his hair, the cheering crowd, the zooming of snitch, the aerial stunts. He loved it all and found he would miss it after this year though he knew he'd enjoy teaching even more. Provided of course he got the position.

The match passed in a blur for Harry as he zoomed through the clear blue skies seeking the elusive golden ball that would win his team the match.

For once as he looked down late on into the game he saw that his team was losing by 100 points to 80 and he knew he needed to catch the snitch soon.

It was then that he saw the golden ball and he grinned like a maniac as he took off after it at high speed.

To no great surprise he could hear a whoosh beside him as his opposite number streaked after the snitch.

The two of them flew neck and neck in it's pursuit and in the end it came down to skill as Harry took the risk of standing up straight on his broom and extending a hand in an attempt to catch the snitch.

To his relief and joy he felt his hands close round the snitch and heard the sounds of disappointment emanating from his opposite number.

He had no time to celebrate however as he slipped from his broom and started to fall.

In moments he was being grasped by someone and looked up to find Blaise Zabini holding onto him in an iron grip "trying to be a martyr Harry?" he asked mirthfully.

Harry grinned at him "something like that" he replied as he sat on Blaise' broom, kept a hand on his own and the two of them descended to the ground where a scene close to pandemonium was occurring as people milled about on the pitch.

When Harry and Blaise reached the ground Harry found himself swept up in one hug after another and receiving pats on the back. Zabini received his own share of hugs and handshakes from the Gryffindor's for his valiant actions.

Harry turned to Blaise "thanks for saving me. Would have been a real bummer if that was the way I'd have gone out" he quipped causing Blaise to laugh "it certainly would" he replied. The two of them shook hands and Blaise said magnanimously "congratulations, you guys deserve it" before he and the other Slytherins left.

The party afterwards was as wild and loud as any Gryffindor Tower had seen before with the New Marauders entertaining the crowd with several pranks.

At one point in the party Harry managed to get away from the rest of his team mates and found Ginny who was drinking a butter beer "hey love" he said with a smile as he approached her "hey yourself" she replied with a grin. They kissed deeply and hugged "you were amazing in the match today" she said beaming.

Harry blushed a little in embarrassment "thanks honey" he said with a smile "there's something I wanted to discuss with you involving Quidditch as it goes".

"Really?" said Ginny intrigued.

"Yeah" said Harry "come with me" he pulled over to the portrait hole and the two of them stepped outside "since it's my last year..." Harry looked round "I need to choose a new Captain for the Quidditch team before I leave...I know a lot of people will accuse me of favouritism Gin Gin but it should be you. You'd be an amazing Captain".

"No Harry" she said, much to his complete surprise.

He gaped at her in shock "no?" he said in confusion "what do you mean...no?".

Ginny rolled her eyes "well lets see how I can put it another way...um...it's a bad idea...I haven't the experience...yep that sums it up".

"But you'd be..." Harry began. Ginny held up a hand "no Harry. It's my final word. Who's your other choice?".

"Colin" said Harry feeling annoyed "but he's too excitable...he's...he's..."

"He's got a years worth of experience on the Quidditch team" cut in Ginny with a smile "he'll do great...ask him".

Harry sighed "alright fine" he said irritably "but I still think you'd be better" he mumbled.

Ginny laughed "well I can help Colin if you want. I can be Deputy Captain to help give him more authority".

Harry sighed again "that sounds fair" he said "fine then, I'll ask Colin".

Ginny beamed at his decision "lets talk to him now" she said enthusiastically as she pulled him back in through the portrait hole.

"Me?! Gryffindor Captain?!" Colin said loudly in amazement as Harry and Ginny told him the news in Harry's dorm room.

Harry nodded "that's right. You've got experience from last year and from this year so you're the ideal candidate" Harry told him, leaving out the part about how Colin had been second choice.

"I'll do it!" Colin said enthusiastically as he seized Harry's hand and shook it wildly "alright Colin" Harry said in some amusement as he took back his now numb hand "we'll speak with Professor McGonagall about it tomorrow, ok?".

Colin nodded eagerly and left the room. As the door shut Harry complained "I hope you know what you're doing love".

"Trust me" replied Ginny "he'll do great next year".

The party only ended late in the night when Professor McGonagall steamed in looking very irritated "now really!" she fumed "I am as happy as the next person that we won the match but it is two o' clock in the morning. To bed all of you!" she chivied them along causing much grumbling and groaning.

Harry was following the others when the Professor said "hold on a minute Potter" her voice sounded so serious that Harry turned round wondering what he had done wrong. He looked at the others who shrugged "you all might as well stay" she said to the rest of the New Marauders who walked over to join Harry "don't worry you aren't in trouble" she assured them with a slight twitch of her lip "I merely wanted to inform you that the Headmaster wishes to see you all tomorrow afternoon in his office. It is about...that which concerns Voldemort".

Harry understood what was being said and was grateful at the Professor for taking no chances as a spy could easily have heard them talking "we'll be there Professor, thanks" said Harry.

"Goodnight you seven" she said to them all before climbing through the portrait hole.

As Harry lay in bed that night realised that there was only one subject likely enough to involve all of the New Marauders 'he's located another of the Horcruxes' he thought with a smile. We have a chance to deal another blow to old Snake Face'.

With these thoughts he settled down to sleep and was soon snoring away as loudly as the rest.


	59. Chapter 59

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything Harry Potter related

* * *

Chapter Fifty Nine: The Diadem, The Rescue Plan, Griphook's Price

* * *

Sunday the 15th of November dawned was cold and wet. In spite of this Harry dragged the rest of the New Marauders on the usual jog round the grounds accompanied this time by Percy who seemed to be glad of a rest "it's been mad at the Ministry" he informed them "especially in the Auror Squad".

When Harry and Percy had slowed down Percy confided "there was another attack yesterday".

"Where abouts?" Harry asked in concern. He always felt sad for those attacked by the Deatheaters and Dementors as well as feeling angry for them at what was done to them "Godric's Hollow" Percy answered sounding sad "weird thing was it wasn't the whole village that was attacked this time".

Harry frowned "what do you mean?".

"The attack was centred on the house of Bathilda Bagshot".

"Bathilda Bagshot?" Harry said, nonplussed. He knew that Bathilda was a noted historian and that her books were used in the teaching of History of Magic at Hogwarts but beyond that he knew nothing about her or why the Deatheaters would attack her house "but why would they target her?" he asked in confusion.

Percy shrugged "I honestly have no idea Harry" he replied "and unless an Order meeting is called I probably won't be told".

Harry was still mulling things over at breakfast as he ate his sausage and egg "Harry...you've missed your mouth...twice" said Ron sounding amused.

"Hmm?" Harry mumbled distantly as he looked down at his jumper "oh sod it" he mumbled in annoyance as he wiped himself down.

"What are you thinking about?" Draco asked. As Harry's twin he'd have know something of what Harry was thinking but even so Harry knew Draco only felt polite in asking.

"Percy told me something unusual earlier" he informed the other New Marauders. He motioned for them to lean in closer "there was another attack on a village in the West of England last night" he told them "Godric's Hollow".

They were all rather surprised as he had been "but that's not even the worst part" he told them "see...they weren't attacking the whole village".

He could see all of the other New Marauders looking at him intently, some of them frowning "they were there to attack one person...Bathilda Bagshot" he revealed.

"Bathilda Bagshot!" Hermione shrieked. Harry waved his arms about madly looking about in concern "be more quiet!" he hissed "you never know who's listening.

"But why would the Deatheaters attack a historian?" Neville asked the question they were all thinking.

Harry frowned "I don't know" he said thinking hard "but I bet there's one person who would know".

"Dumbledore" they all said together and nodded.

That afternoon the weather was as wonderful as the day before with radiant sunshine and few clouds in the blue sky.

It was this perfect weather that had them heading outside and down to the Quidditch stadium where Harry, Ron, Draco and Ginny took turns on Harry's broom performing spectacular aerial stunts while Hermione spent her time reading a book she'd taken out of the library.

Luna cheered them on while Neville and Harry's sister Molly were busy snogging. A fact that irritated Harry greatly and caused him to descend at one point prepared to thump Neville for being so presumptuous.

He was stopped by a hand on his arm and he turned to look at his fiancee "leave Neville alone" she said softly but firmly "but...but..." he gestured to where his best friend and sister were engrossed in kissing.

"So?" said Ginny "do you forget when we started kissing each other?".

"Not the point" mumbled Harry as he thrust his hands into the pockets of his jeans "of course it is" Ginny said impatiently "in the first place we were younger than they are and in the second place it was Molly who initiated the kissing".

"Really?" Harry asked feeling unable to believe it.

His girlfriend nodded "really" she confirmed "look over at Neville. Look at his body language".

Harry chanced a look and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw that Neville was casting repeated looks about and seemed very nervous and like he did not want to be kissing.

Harry chuckled "she's always been rather forceful".

"Too true" said Ginny "so you see there's no need to intervene".

"Except to convince poor Nev that I don't mind" Harry noted as he began to walk on over.

"Hey guys" he said as he reached Molly and Neville. Neville jumped about a foot in the air looking nervous and guilty.

Harry felt like laughing but was sure that Neville would take it the wrong way and he didn't want to spoil their friendship.

Molly glared at Harry for making her boyfriend so nervous and Harry withered under her anger which was the same angry look as their mother gave them when they had been bad. Harry sighed "look Nev, I know you were kissing" he said.

Neville immediately tried to speak, tripping over his words as he rushed to deny "it's alright" Harry assured him gently. Neville stopped trying to speak, a look of surprise plastered on his face "I'm not joking" said Harry "it's not a problem" he chuckled "I reckon me and Ginny started kissing each other before you and Molly in any case so I'd say you two showed much more restraint".

He patted Neville on the shoulder and grinned to show that he was fine with it all.

After a time his best friend smiled sheepishly.

It was then that a voice called out "Potter, Black, Longbottom, Weasleys, Lovegood, Granger, it's time for your meeting with the Headmaster" it was Professor McGonagall who soon came into view.

"Meeting with the Headmaster?" Molly asked her brother casting looks at the rest of the New Marauders "why would you all be meeting the Headmaster at the same time?" she asked curiously.

"Order business" Harry whispered to her "can't tell you right now. I'll explain later" he told her.

She looked annoyed at not being told now but eventually nodded.

"We're ready Professor" said Draco on behalf of the group as the seven New Marauders, Molly and Professor McGonagall exited the stadium heading back to the castle.

* * *

Once the nine of them reached the Entrance Hall of the castle the New Marauders and Professor McGonagall said goodbye to Molly and left her as they headed up the main staircase which led to the Second Floor.

"Where is the entrance today Professor?" Harry asked her as they walked alongside each other.

"It's on the Third Floor" she told him and the others as they kept walking.

Before they knew it the eight of them had reached the two stone gargoyles in front of the spiral staircase "mint imperials" the Professor said clearly causing the gargoyles to spring aside "I'll see you all later" she said with a brief smile before leaving them to step onto the spiral stairs and move upwards to Dumbledore's living quarters.

When they arrived in the corridor leading to Dumbledore's Office they walked down it leisurely and in complete silence with each of them no doubt wondering just what the Headmaster wanted with them today.

As they reached the office the doors opened by themselves and the familiar voice of Dumbledore called "come in all of you".

Harry was long past wondering how Dumbledore always seemed to know who was visiting him and by now just went along with it "come on" he said as he led them in.

Harry was not surprised to see that Dumbledore had conjured seven squashy comfortable armchairs in front of his desk to sit in and that there were seven mugs resting on a tray. He'd bet anything that five of them contained tea and two contained coffee which was the only hot drink Draco and Neville would drink.

"Hello Professor" they all said in variations.

"I'm glad you could all make it" he said with a small smile "please sit down and take refreshment. We'll talk of the subject in a short while".

After they'd drank their fill in refreshments and ate through several biscuits Professor Dumbledore waved his wand causing the tray to vanish "now down to business" he said seriously "I think by now that most of you have guessed the reason for today's meeting".

"You've found another Horcrux haven't you Sir" said Hermione.

Dumbledore beamed widely at her "got it in one Miss Granger" he said happily "yes we've managed locate another one at Gringott's Bank".

Harry couldn't believe it. All this time a Horcrux had been hidden inside Gringott's Bank?!.

"Where about's is it within the bank?" Ron asked and Harry had to smile as it seemed his friend was already thinking of strategy and tactics as to find the Horcrux and seizing it.

"As to that question Ronald I have to say that it is inside the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange" Harry felt Neville tense up beside him. 'No wonder' thought Harry. Bellatrix Lestrange was one of the Deatheaters who had attacked Neville's parents in 1981 and had led the group that had killed them the previous year.

"How on earth will we get to it?" Ginny burst out in frustration.

"Well now that is the key question isn't it Ginevra" Dumbledore said "and it is the main reason I have called this meeting between the eight of us today".

"You want us to help develop a plan" Harry guessed.

Dumbledore nodded "precisely. You seven have been through much in your time here at Hogwarts. You've seen and done a lot and in the case of yourselves Harry and Ronald you have managed to find a way into a hidden Chamber and battled a shade, a Professor and a Basilisk. I therefore think you are the right people to plan this operation".

Harry nodded. It made a lot of sense "the first thing to decide is who will go into the bank" he said to a nod of agreement from Ron "agreed" said Ron "that decision will impact how successful we are".

"There should be three of us" said Hermione sensibly "it makes sense to have a girl play Bellatrix so that leaves one of us three" she said as she indicated Herself, Ginny and Luna.

Harry wasn't happy about that but he knew his best friend and virtual sister was correct in her assessment. Only a girl would know things about a woman in terms of mannerisms and correctly dressing "the issue will be getting some of her hair for the potion as well as procuring the hair of two others to accompany the girl" Ginny pointed out.

"That will not be an issue I am glad to say" Dumbledore said with a smile.

They all looked at him in bewilderment as he opened the top drawer of his desk and held up a small vial containing several black hairs.

"How...how did you get those?" Luna nearly squeaked.

Dumbledore set the vial down. A sad look crossed his face "Professor Snape visited Azkaban two years ago on my orders to procure hair from several known Deatheaters incarcerated there in case the hairs would prove useful".

Harry felt sad at the mention of his deceased uncle but also proud that his uncle had done such a thing.

He also had to commend the Headmaster for his very timely idea. He thought again of how Dumbledore was one of the few respected leaders in the Wizarding World who had always believed that Voldemort would return "you had it done because you knew Voldemort would return...didn't you Sir" Harry said simply.

"Indeed" replied Dumbledore "I knew it would happen one day and that we must be prepared for such an eventuality".

Harry's respect for the man grew, if possible, even bigger. Thanks to the Headmasters intelligent decision they could now infiltrate the Ministry with someone posing as Bellatrix. He frowned however "Professor?" he said "do you have hairs from anyone else?".

Dumbledore beamed at him "why yes indeed Harry" he replied as he took out several more vials containing hairs "more Deatheaters?" Harry asked for confirmation.

"More Deatheaters" Dumbledore confirmed, his eyes twinkling.

Harry nodded at the vials in much satisfaction as he felt that their task had got a bit more easy.

"In that case I think three of us should go in" Ron said as he seemed to be assessing the task "there should be one woman and two men accompanying her".

"There is an rather big problem with infiltrating the bank however" Dumbledore told them "you see, we don't have Bellatrix Lestrange's key and as a result we will need the help of one of the Gringott's Goblins to get down to her vault".

"But we can't trust Goblins!" Neville burst out.

"I agree with you Neville we indeed cannot trust them but we must in this one case. This task is too important not to trust one of them".

"Please tell me you have someone in mind" Harry said feeling annoyed at this development as he rubbed his forehead in the place where his scar used to be.

"As a matter of fact I do" Dumbledore informed them all "I have acquaintance that works at Gringott's Bank by the name of Griphook".

"Griphook!" Harry exclaimed. He recalled that Griphook was the one who usually took him down to his vault when he visited the bank and while Griphook seemed pleasant enough for a Goblin Harry always had the impression that said Goblin could not be trusted and that it was folly to do so "He may seem pleasant Professor but you can't trust him. I'm sure he'd just abandon us in the bank".

Dumbledore nodded as he heard this and immediately answered "fear not Harry. When we meet with him which shall be any second now, I shall insist on him swearing an oath to get you in and then out again. As a matter of fact he is planning to leave Gringott's and take the object I shall give him, claims he is done serving humans".

The fireplace flared up as the flames turned green and in a moment a very short creature with long dark hair, long nails and sharp teeth exited the fireplace muttering about using the floo network.

He stopped his mutterings when he noticed the occupants of the room "greetings Albus Dumbledore, Head of Hogwarts School and Chief Warlock".

This must have been the traditional greeting for Dumbledore responded "greetings to you Griphook of Gringott's Bank may you live long and acquire much gold".

Griphook smiled showing off his pointed teeth and shook the old wizards hand "you are the one wizard it is always a pleasure doing business with" he said.

Dumbledore nodded at the compliment and gestured to the New Marauders "Griphook these are the New Marauders, Miss Hermione Granger, Hermione nodded unsure how to react, Miss Ginevra Weasley, Mr Neville Longbottom, Mr Ronald Weasley, Mr Draco Black, Draco bowed slightly and Mr Harry Potter who I believe you have already met several times before".

"We have Sir" said Harry speaking first "greetings Griphook, may you and your family prosper and acquire much wealth".

The Goblin gave a rare smile at the attempted greeting "a most impressive attempt at the traditional greeting young Potter" he replied.

"Shall we sit?" said Dumbledore who conjured another chair. Griphook agreed and sat down along with the rest "I take it you did not invite me here just to exchange pleasantries" said Griphook immediately getting to the heart of the matter.

"You are correct my dear Griphook" replied Dumbledore "in actual fact I contacted you as there is a task that I need...or rather I should say WE need your help with which concerns the bank".

The Goblins eyes narrowed suspiciously "and what do you imagine I could help you with?" he asked.

"The fact is Griphook, there is something within the vault of one Bellatrix Lestrange which we need to retrieve..." Dumbledore hesitated and Harry knew that the old wizard was weighing up whether to reveal the last part to the Goblin. In the end Dumbledore sighed obviously knowing he had no choice even though he didn't fully trust their guest "it's a goblet" Dumbledore said "but not just any goblet. It's the actually the Cup of Helga Hufflepuff".

"The cup that was lost in 1945?" Griphook said sounding incredulous "do you mean to say that all this time in Madam Lestrange's vault...has been one of the Wizarding World's most famed objects?".

Dumbledore nodded "precisely Griphook and that is why we need your help retrieving it".

Griphook who had been sat forward in his seat leaned back and clasped his gnarled hands together "and leaving aside for a moment the difficulty and danger to me in helping you do such a thing...why should I help you?" he said after thinking for some time.

Harry glanced at Dumbledore and could see that the question had not fazed the wizard at all 'evidently he knew Griphook would ask it' Harry thought to himself as he and everyone else present waited for the answer "I have a magical artefact that has been in my family for a thousand years" said Dumbledore.

Harry wasn't surprised. He knew that Dumbledore could trace his ancestry all the way back to the time of Merlin if not earlier. The Dumbledore family was, in one form or another, older than Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic put together.

"This artefact is the wand of Merlin" Dumbledore revealed. A stunned silence met these words. Anyone who was pure-blood or half-blood tended to know the story of how Merlin had died over a thousand years ago and had passed the wand onto his son Mordred, thereafter the wand had passed into legend and had become lost over the passage of time with few today knowing where it truly existed.

"How do I know you are genuine?" Griphook asked after a while.

Harry saw that Dumbledore looked slightly annoyed at having his integrity questioned but he merely replied "because of this" the old wizards hands disappeared with his wand under the desk for a short time before there was a click and the sound of a drawer being opened.

Dumbledore placed a thin, plain, wooden box on the desk, stood up and picked it up. He walked across to Griphook and placed the box into the Goblins hand.

Griphook immediately flipped the box open and gazed at the wand for a while. After passing a hand over it he said "you understand of course that we need an expert on wand lore to identify this as Merlin's wand".

"I expected as much" said Dumbledore calmly "I have my best people working on rescuing a certain Mr Ollivander and bringing him here to Hogwarts and safety".

Griphook nodded "very well. I shall keep hold of this box" he said seriously "when Mr Ollivander is up for giving his expertise on this wand I shall see if it is worth the risk to help you".

Griphook stood up, nodded to each of the witches and wizards and then left without another word.

Once the Goblin was gone Draco asked "how do you he's being genuine?".

Dumbledore smiled "greed dear boy. Greed. If that wand is genuine which it is, Griphook will be able to sell it for a huge profit and leave Gringott's as he has planned for years".

Harry had to grin at Dumbledore's clever plan. He just hoped that when it came time to infiltrate Gringott's things would go more smoothly.

"Now that that discussion is over" said Dumbledore "I believe we have another task to perform" he opened his desk drawer and waved his wand. An object wrapped in cloth was laid on the desk. Dumbledore carefully opened the fabric to reveal the Diadem that Professor Snape had been tasked with finding the previous year "you see before you once again the Diadem of Ravenclaw" said Dumbledore.

He walked over to a section of wall on which hung the Sword of Gryffindor. He removed it from the wall and placed it reverently onto the desk "which one of you will step forward to destroy this Horcrux?" he asked of the New Marauders.

Before any of them could discuss it amongst themselves Draco said "I will" and stood up. Harry watched as his twin walked the short distance from his seat to the desk and stared for a moment at the object in front of him.

Harry could tell from Draco's thoughts that his brother couldn't believe an object of such beauty could contain a piece of Voldemort's soul.

The sad truth though was that it did and the object needed to be split in two to destroy the Horcrux and bring them one step closer to killing Voldemort and freeing the world from him forever.

Draco walked to the sword, picked it up by the hilt and gripped it firmly. He moved it about a bit and gave a few swings to test it's weight. He smiled as it seemed to be very easy to move.

Suddenly, without warning, he lifted the sword above his head and thrust down with all his might. The sword impacted the Diadem, there was a loud bang, Draco was thrown backwards smacking his head on the stone floor of the office, there was scream and an inky blackness flew out of the Diadem up into the air before dissipating in front of their stunned eyes.

It was done. Another Horcrux had been destroyed leaving now only the cup and the locket so far as they knew.

"Well it is done" said Dumbledore solemnly. He helped Draco to his feet "are you alright my boy?" he asked him in concern. Draco nodded "I'll be fine Sir" he replied "I just need to get my head checked by Madam Pomfrey" Dumbledore nodded "well we have done everything we needed to in this meeting so you may all leave" he told them "I will send a message to you via Professor McGonagall once the plan for rescuing Mr Ollivander has hopefully been successfully carried out".

The group left the office and Harry wondered what on earth was going to happen next.

* * *

James Potter yawned as he sat at his desk going though various reports from sightings, to raids and duels between Aurors and Deatheaters.

He felt tired again. He'd been feeling tired a lot since Voldemort's return. A lot of the time it seemed that Voldemort and his minions were a step ahead of them which made it rather difficult when attempting to defeat him.

As he shuffled some papers he thought with pride of the fact that his son and nephew were helping to destroy the Horcruxes, the very things that rooted Voldemort to this world.

He knew that if all of the Horcruxes were destroyed then the evil wizard would be just as vulnerable to being killed as anyone else.

He longed for that day more than anything. Longed for it to all be over. For the scourge of the Wizarding World to be gone.

He was so lost in his thoughts that the loud knock on his office door startled him "what...oh...come in" he called out.

The door opened and his secretary a witch named Tricia Lopez entered the room looking immaculately dressed as always "morning Tricia" James said as he stifled a yawn with the back of his hand "you look nice today".

Tricia beamed "thank you James" she replied using the informal name he'd asked her to use when they were alone. He hated all the formality of being called Mr Potter. As far as he'd always be concerned Mr Potter had been his father and he felt much older than his thirty seven years "you look rough today James" she said sounding concerned.

Being that she was in her sixties she was very much the mothering type and tried to make sure he looked after himself at work properly "not enough sleep again" he said tiredly.

She was sympathetic "in that case I'm sorry to deliver the news but Mr Dumbledore in his capacity as Head of the Order of the Phoenix has convened a meeting for ten minutes time to be held at Order Headquarters".

"Oh no" moaned James miserably "what's it about?".

"I've really no idea" she replied "all I know is that all senior Order members are to be there for the meeting".

James sighed wearily "I was going to ask for a cup of tea but you'd better leave it Tricia" he said as he stood up "call Sirius in would you" he said politely as he began to pace in an effort to wake himself up. Tricia nodded and left.

Two minutes later Sirius entered the room, took one look at James and said "you're looking rough today".

James glared at him "Tricia already informed me" he said irritably. He immediately felt bad "sorry Pads old buddy" he said apologetically "not enough sleep recently".

Sirius nodded in sympathy "I know what you mean" he said sounding tired too "it was two in the morning when I got back to the Manor last night. I didn't get a chance to say goodnight to David or the Twins or anyone else and Janice was annoyed at me waking her up. Why does that git have to choose such a late hour for his attacks?" he lamented.

James shrugged. He had no idea how the mind of a psychotic, murderous, wizard worked.

"We'd better head to Headquarters now" James said as he headed to the fireplace, Sirius just behind him.

James took some floor powder, Sirius grabbed his arm "Number 12 Grimmauld Place!" he shouted and the pair of them vanished in a whoosh of green flames.

When James and Sirius exited the kitchen fireplace inside Grimmauld Place they were greeted at once by the bushy haired Molly Weasley who hugged them both tightly "hello Molly" they mumbled, the sound of their greeting muffled by her jumper "Albus will be pleased you came so promptly" she beamed at them "as a matter of fact you two are here before nearly everyone else".

James and Sirius walked behind Molly up the stairs from the kitchen and James could feel the tenseness radiating off his best friend, his brother. James knew that Sirius absolutely hated the old house. Being there reminded Sirius far too much of his dark and miserable childhood that he'd tried so hard to forget.

It was the main reason why, even before Voldemort's return, Sirius had offered the place up to be headquarters for the Order. James couldn't blame him one bit. He wouldn't want to spend a single night here let alone live in the old house.

When they reached the drawing-room where the meeting would take place Molly pushed the door open ushering them in.

They found Albus and Arthur, the two most powerful men in Wizarding Britain, chatting in good humour over the current Quidditch season "I tell you Arthur the Wimbourne Wasps have the cup well in hand" Albus insisted only for the redheaded and balding Arthur to declare "no it's going to be the Ballycastle Bats, they have the best Chasers".

"Ah but they do not have the best Seeker" Albus replied with a smile.

The two men were just about to launch into a fresh wave of conversation when James cleared his throat. Albus and Arthur looked over at the doorway "ah there you are!" beamed Arthur happily. He was always glad to speak to both Sirius and James whom he considered friends alongside the other two Marauders.

Arthur and Albus walked over to the two men who also walked towards them. The two pairs met in the middle of the room and Arthur shook their hands lustily "we can talk Quidditch for a while!" he said happily by way of greeting causing both James and Sirius to exchange a grin. Arthur Weasley may now be the most important man in the Wizarding World but he had not let it go to his head. It was just one of many reasons why they'd always liked and respected the man.

"Hello James, Sirius" Albus said with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes as he greeted his friends and former students "how are you both?" James and Sirius exchanged looks and chuckled " a bit tired to be honest Albus" Sirius replied for them "but otherwise we're fine".

"Delighted to hear it" Albus said warmly. The four of them sat down and took tea together while discussing Quidditch as they waited for the rest of the Order members to arrive for the meeting which was due to begin soon.

"Men" Molly muttered fondly as she exited the room.

They had been chatting for some time when voices could be heard on the stairs "do you think they're already here?".

James grinned as he recognised the voice of Remus "I wouldn't be surprised if they were at Auror Headquarters asleep at their desks" came Peters voice in response. James chuckled. Peter wasn't far off the mark. He had been feeling like going to sleep back at the Auror base but was now feeling much more wide awake after a refreshing cup of tea and some good conversation.

The door opened and Molly led Remus and Peter in for them to be greeted warmly by the others "glad you could take time out from grading papers you old rat" Sirius teased Peter who grinned and knuckled Sirius' hair in response "I yield! I yield!" cried Sirius after a moment causing a smirking Peter to release him.

The group fell into conversation on various topics broken only out of it by the arrival of various other Order members including Amelia Bones, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Bill Weasley and his wife Fleur, Charlie Weasley, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, Fred and George Weasley, Andromeda Tonks and her husband Ted, Remus' wife Tonks, Lucy, Janice and Celia and many others.

Once all of the top people in the Order (excluding the New Marauders) were assembled Dumbledore called the meeting to order "many thanks my dear friends for taking the time out of your busy day for coming to this meeting" he began "as you know we have a very secret and very important mission to carry out in the new year involving the New Marauders" everyone nodded at this "what most of you will not be aware of however is the price our **friend **demands for helping us get into a certain Gringott's vault. He demanded something very valuable. A magical artefact he could sell for much gold".

Dumbledore sighed and paced "I have such an artefact and at once offered it to him" he smiled slightly "I regret to say that while he was taken with the artefact which is a wand, he refused to believe it's authenticity until it has been verified by an experienced and highly skilled wand maker" he informed them "and sadly we only have one top quality wand maker left".

"Garrick Ollivander" said James seriously.

Dumbledore nodded "exactly. And as we all know Mr Ollivander is currently being held securely at a hidden location where he is no doubt being tortured by Voldemort and his Deatheaters to reveal all secrets of wand lore including the Elder Wand".

Many people gasped at the implications of this though few knew that Dumbledore had the Elder Wand none were in any doubt that if Voldemort could locate it and take it for himself he would be all powerful and most likely impossible to defeat especially as he was not known as the most dark wizard in history for nothing "the fact is that even if we did not need Mr Ollivanders help verifying the wand we still need him to return to making wands and his vast knowledge would be just as useful to us as it is to our enemies".

Dumbledore turned to James "I know yield the floor for a moment to James Potter the Head of the Aurors who has had people working on finding Mr Ollivander".

Dumbledore stepped aside allowing James to step up. He cleared his throat and began to speak "just yesterday one of my Auror teams captured a very useful source of information. One of the Deatheaters whom has earned the trust of Voldemort" he said "_Theodore Nott_" he spat the name like a curse "we caught him and another low ranking Deatheater as they were terrorising a Muggle village" he said in disgust. "No doubt on the orders of Voldemort" James smiled grimly "in order to avoid being killed he given us a great deal of information. We have verified it through his memories and found he is part of Voldemort's inner circle and has actually seen Mr Ollivander with his own eyes as well as the Manor in which he is being kept".

James gazed round at his fellow Order members "he is imprisoned within Nott Manor and is being guarded by Lucius Malfoy".

While everyone in the room was upset at Mr Ollivanders imprisonment they all seemed very glad to know that he had been located and would soon be free".

James stepped aside and Dumbledore stepped up again "the thing I have to ask now is very serious and very important. In fact I cannot state just how desperate a mission this will be" he warned them "it is going to be extremely high risk as it involves getting within the wards of the Manor, finding Mr Ollivander and getting him away from there and to safety. I would say it is highly likely you shall have to fight through groups of Deatheaters to reach him so we need as many people as possible to volunteer".

One by one people began to step forward. There was Oliver Wood who was now Goalkeeper for the Puddlemere United first team, Elphias Doge Dumbledore's great friend, Aberforth Dumbledore who volunteered having forgiven his older brother of events from their past, Janice who Sirius got into a shouting match with but who wouldn't back down, Peter, Remus, Sirius and James of course, Celia and Lucy who Peter and James respectively argued with. Amelia Bones, the Weasley brothers Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George, Tonks much to the annoyance of Remus, Ted Tonks and his wife Andromeda and several others. One of the most surprising people to step forward to join the assault team was Arthur Weasley. Not surprising because he was afraid oh no, Arthur Weasley was on the contrary one the toughest and bravest men in the Wizarding World even though he didn't look it. No the surprise came from the fact he was Minister for Magic and few Ministers in a century or more had willingly put themselves in danger.

"Arthur no!" Molly Weasley exclaimed as he stepped forward "you're too important" she said forcefully.

Arthur took his wife by the hand "Molly my dear, what use am I as Minister if I do not put myself in the way of the same hardships and challenges as everyone else?" he reasoned "I am the Minister for Magic and as such must inspire people through my actions not my words and my action is to be a part of this assault on the Manor".

"But you could get killed" Molly sobbed hysterically "so could any of the others my dear, including our sons and you don't see any of them shrinking away from it. I must prove myself worthy and this is the way to do it".

"You fool Arthur" Molly said softly but fondly as she hugged her husband "you brave, brave fool".

By the time people had finished stepping forward they had a virtual army of wizards and witches to storm the Manor and get Mr Ollivander away "now I warn you all that some of you may not return from this" Dumbledore told them all softly "so if any of you wish to change your minds you need only speak up and you will not have to take part" James looked round and noted with much pride that none of those who had volunteered had stepped back.

"Now that we have a group assembled" said Dumbledore "the assault on the Manor shall take place shortly after Christmas, the 27th of December to be exact" he said "you shall assault from two points, the front of the Manor and the back. Those of you attacking the front be aware that James has informed me there are Dementors guarding that section so be on guard. We shall sort out distribution of forces at the next meeting to take place on Christmas Eve. Well that is all I believe unless anyone has anything else they'd like to share" no one spoke "very well then. Meeting is adjourned" he declared.

People said goodbyes to each other and the house began to empty rapidly of people as they returned to their jobs or homes. When only the Marauder Clan and Dumbledore were left James asked "Albus do you think this plan can really work?".

The old wizard seemed to consider the question for a moment before replying "I think it will take some luck but yes...yes I believe it will work. We have much skill and many brave witches and wizards willing to sacrifice themselves for this to work".

As James left he still had his doubts and worries but squashed them down as being completely unhelpful.

This was going to be the toughest mission James had ever been on and he couldn't help the prickle of uneasiness that ran up his spine at the whole thing.


	60. Chapter 60

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter

* * *

Chapter Sixty: Christmas and The Battle of Nott Manor

The weeks had gone on relatively normally at Hogwarts for a school containing only witches and wizards. The students had got on with their learning, their Quidditch practises, their spell training and generally having fun.

The New Marauders had been appraised of the fact that the meeting over finding Mr Ollivander had been a huge success with a plan being formalised and a great many Order members volunteering themselves for the dangerous task of storming the Manor to locate and rescue the wand maker from his dismal captivity.

Harry had been pleased to hear a plan was in place and was generally happy that so many had volunteered to be involved but he was at the same time very worried as a great many of those he cared about would be involved in the mission.

His special worries went out to Mr Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and Percy who were like brothers to him and to his aunts, uncles and parents. His aunts, uncles and parents being who he worried over most of all. He knew how dangerous this mission would be and had resolved himself to demand that at the very least his parents hang back. He knew that Molly would back him up while Draco was going to attempt to persuade his father Sirius and Ron and Ginny were going to talk to their dad as well.

Harry could only hope they were all successful though something gnawing away in the pit of his stomach told him that it was a waste of time. After all, it was from their respective parents that they got their brave natures from themselves and given that none of them would hesitate at being involved in such a mission had they been asked he knew it was irrational to demand otherwise from wizards and witches who were older and more capable than they. 'Irrational or not' Harry thought 'I'm still going to do it'.

The train journey from Hogwarts that morning was very subdued for the New Marauders and Molly as they all thought over the impending assault on the Manor and each were swallowed up in their own worries and fears.

Molly received comfort from Neville while Luna and Hermione comforted their boyfriends and Ginny and Harry comforted each other.

'This will be' thought Harry 'a rather tense Christmas'.

He had decided though, that in view of the attack on Nott Manor scheduled for the 27th, he would make sure to be nothing but cheerful on Christmas Day.

When the train pulled into the station Harry and the others were quick to fetch their luggage and get it down off the train.

Harry and Draco fetched trolleys for each of them and looked round the station. "Over here dear!" called out a voice. He looked over to see Mrs Weasley standing nearby smiling widely. It seemed that she was alone and that made Harry think that everyone else must be busy planning the assault on the Manor.

"This way guys" he said to the others and pushed his trolley over to Mrs Weasley. The others followed close behind.

"Hi Mrs Weasley" said Harry with a smile as they reached her.

"Hello dear" she replied as she pulled him into a bone crushing hug which she followed up by giving big hugs to everyone else with especially long hugs for Ginny and Ron.

As the nine of them walked towards the barrier that led to the Muggle World Harry asked "Where is everybody Mrs Weasley?".

"They're...uh...busy" she replied evasively "Tonks is waiting on the other side of the barrier with Percy, Fred and George to escort you".

Harry smiled briefly as Tonks' name came up "how is she right now?" he asked. He and the others had found out by letter the previous day that Tonks had found out she was pregnant and that she would be having a boy".

"She's very happy mostly and the morning sickness isn't too bad" Mrs Weasley said "she's a bit fed up with Remus though".

Harry rolled his eyes "let me guess, he's worrying over the kid because he's a werewolf and he's being overly protective".

Mrs Weasley nodded "that sums it up" she replied "Tonks told me earlier that she's on the verge of hitting him if he doesn't stop being and I quote a prat".

Harry laughed out loud at this "I bet she is. She doesn't like being coddled".

They nine of them reached the barrier and went through one at a time.

Harry had just pushed through the barrier when he heard a very welcome voice "Harry" he was pulled into a hug by Tonks who he struggled to think of as an aunt "it's so great that you're back" she said happily.

When they pulled apart she said "maybe you can convince Remus to stop being an idiot. God knows he wont listen to me or anyone else about how stupid he's being".

Harry grinned "I'll do me best for you 'aunty'" he replied cheekily.

"Hey less of the aunt you little hooligan" she replied playfully swatting him on the back of the head.

As everyone else greeted Tonks and the girls enthused over her pregnancy Harry walked over to Percy "hey Perce" he said as he shook Percy's hand "I'd have thought you'd be at the planning meeting" he said.

Percy shrugged "there's more than enough major players in the Order at the meeting. They don't need me" he replied.

The ten of them arrived at Marauder Manor which was very crowded with the entire Marauder Clan, Arthur, Molly, Ron and Ginny all living there along with Hermione.

The house was so packed that the limits of magical expansion had been reached and no more rooms could be created which meant that several of them had to double up with Hermione and Ginny sleeping in the same room, Luna and Molly doing the same and Harry doubling up with Ron.

* * *

Christmas Day rolled around and as Harry woke up that morning he felt a wide smile fall across his face. He loved Christmas. It was one of the few times, possibly even the only time of the year when he could truly forget about all the worries and cares of the world. Having to fight Voldemort, rampaging Deatheaters and vile Dementors, none of it seemed to matter as he thought of the presents, the singing of carols round the family piano, the games of quidditch, football and charades.

He could a loud snoring coming from nearby and looked over to the bed on the other side of the room in which his best friend Ron was sleeping. He shook his head fondly at the sheer amount of noise coming from the redhead "time to wake him up I think" he said quietly to himself as he plucked his glasses from the bedside cabinet, wiped them down and put them on. The room came into sharp focus and he padded over to the large chest of drawers in which most of his clothing was kept "what should I wear today" he mumbled to himself as he searched. His eyes eventually lit on his favourite t-shirt which had a photo on the front of all four members of his favourite Muggle band Queen. Grinning, he took out the t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of red socks and a jumper with reindeer on it which was a present from Mrs Weasley and had been charmed to grow as he grew.

He took the clothing to the bathroom and got changed. Reemerging some ten minutes later having also brushed his teeth, he put his mind to waking up his best friend. The problem with Ron was that he was a heavy sleeper and the only time he woke easily was when he was having nightmares.

'I'll start by shaking him a bit' Harry decided as he walked over to his best friend.

"Ron" he said gently as he shook him lightly "come on Ron, time to wake up, it's Christmas morning". Nothing. Not so much as a flicker of the eyes.

Harry tried several more times, each time a bit more strongly but Ron remained stubbornly asleep. As much as Harry grumbled over how difficult it was to wake his best friend he admired how easily Ron slept and wished it was the same for him "well if you won't wake up the easy way..." Harry said tapping his chin thoughtfully. His eyes widened as a devilish grin spread over his face which was growing the first hints of a beard and moustache "I couldn't" he said mock solemnly "not to a guest on Christmas Day". But he was smirking as he took out his wand and aimed it at Ron "Aguagenti" he called out.

A jet of clear, cold water shot from the end of his wand and splashed Ron directly in the face. His best friend reacted just as he had expected he would, by opening his eyes wide, leaping out of bed and readying his wand for an attack "what!" he shouted in surprise "what!".

Harry couldn't hold the laughter in anymore as he doubled over and began to howl with laughter at the sight of his friend who was dripping wet. He looked up for a moment as Ron glanced down at himself "oi!" Ron shouted "this isn't funny!".

"Oh it is Ron!" Harry guffawed as tears rolled down his cheeks "it's very, very funny!".

"Lets see how you like it!" Ron said with an evil grin.

"What?!" Harry shouted "no!" but it was too late. Ron had grabbed his wand from the bedside table, aimed it at Harry and called out "Rictusempra!" the spell hit Harry in the midsection causing his howling laughter to increase so much that he found himself on the floor banging his fists. He was so busy trying to counteract it that he could do nothing as the second spell hit him "Aguamenti!" it was as if he'd been hit with a hundred water balloons all at once. He was covered from his hair down to his sock clad feet in freezing cold water "b..b...bloody hell" he muttered "g...g...good one".

Ron smirked "I think that makes us even now" he said.

Harry nodded as he shivered and pointed his wand at himself. He murmured the drying incantation and felt much better and much warmer. Ron did the same and then said "lets avoid the stairs" Harry grinned and nodded. He took hold of Ron's arm, Ron spun on the spot as did Harry and they left the room.

They appeared with "crack!" in the middle of the kitchen near the table "argh!" shouted Mrs Weasley in alarm as she dropped the stack of plates she'd been carrying to the table.

While Harry grinned at their surprising her Ron gulped knowing that he was about to get a rather bad lecture "Ronald Weasley how many times have I told you?!" she shouted as Harry made to head to the backdoor. Ron pleaded with his eyes for help. Harry felt sorry for him but took one look at Mrs Weasley who was hitting her stride and shook his head mouthing "sorry mate".

As he slipped on and zipped up his warm winter coat and put on his scarf, trainers and gloves he could still hear Mrs Weasley berating her son "just because you are seventeen and can Apparate anywhere does not give you the right to go scaring people!" she shrieked.

Harry slipped out of the backdoor, looked to his right and saw Draco and Hermione both standing there grinning as the two of them stared through the kitchen window. Harry sidled up to them quietly "alright you two?" he smiled.

"Harry!" said Hermione with a wide smile. She threw her arms around him "Merry Christmas...brother" she said with a grin. Harry grinned back. Thinking to how just a few days earlier Hermione had been officially adopted by James and Lucy Potter. She would now go by the name Granger-Potter and Harry was over the moon that she was part of the family.

As far as he'd been concerned it was something that made the most sense as Hermione had few Muggle relatives and none that knew she was a witch which meant she'd have no one to live with and in any case she was like a sister to Harry, she always had been and she'd been living at them Manor. This way her rights were protected.

"Merry Christmas to you to...sis" he replied returning the hug fiercely.

He and Draco patted each other on the shoulder in a manly gesture of affection wishing each other a Happy Christmas while Hermione muttered "men!" in exasperation at their refusal to show affection in front of others.

"How long do you think she'll chastise him for?" Hermione said with a bit of a smile.

The twins looked at each other and grinned "if I know Mrs Weasley it'll be a good twenty minutes before he's out of there".

"Yeah she's a nice woman but..." Draco shuddered "I wouldn't want to be on the end of one of her scoldings".

"What like you that time we were at The Burrow and squirted shampoo all over the bathroom?" Hermione said.

They all burst out laughing at the memory from when they were kids. Of course after a while they all seemed to fall into their own thoughts.

Harry was thinking about how this was essentially their last Christmas as children of a sort. From now on they would be adults.

'Still' Harry thought to himself 'look at Padfoot, Wormtail, Moony and Dad, they still play pranks and do stuff that kids would normally do. Who says we can't do any of that now?' he smiled to himself and resolved that he would not lose his sense of humour like some adults seemed to.

As his dad had said several time before "humour is what makes the world go round". Harry had taken that lesson on board and it was in fact the main reason he'd formed the New Marauders to bring some fun and laughter to Hogwarts and elsewhere.

"Should we wait for him?" Draco said.

Harry shook his head "Ron knows our jogging route. He'll catch up in a bit" the other two nodded.

They were soon joined by Ginny who took her fingers out of her ears as she exited the kitchen "Mum's giving it to Ron with both barrels this time" she said as she reached them "hey love" she said.

"Hey yourself beautiful" Harry replied as they kissed deeply. Harry couldn't believe how fast the time had gone in their relationship.

It seemed only yesterday to Harry that the two of them had become a couple at the end Harry's Second Year, her First. They'd been together for over four years now and Harry could not imagine and future with her not in it. In truth he didn't want to imagine such a future and prayed that he would never have to.

The four of them had completed one lap of the Manor grounds when a disgruntled Ron arrived wearing his exercise clothes and muttering about "overbearing mothers" and "I'm an adult now" which caused his friends and sister to snigger "have fun Ron?" Ginny asked innocently causing her brother to scowl and ignore her instead jogging alongside Hermione.

By nine am all five of them were feeling rather hungry and so returned to the main house for breakfast "do you think anyone will be up yet?" Ron asked with a yawn.

Harry turned the handle and pushed the door open. He laughed as he saw Peter covered in food. From this distance it looked like shreddies and cornflakes with lots of milk.

"I think it's safe to say everyone's up" he told them all with a grin as he stepped aside to allow them all a look. The other three burst out laughing and they all entered the kitchen "morning Wormtail" Harry said with a smirk "Harry and Lily didn't want their breakfast then I take it" he said mirthfully.

His uncle mock glared for a moment before he chuckled "seems they'd rather let me have it" he said.

Harry laughed "I'll help make them some more" he said helpfully. His uncle flashed him a grateful smile and was even happier when Hermione offered "and I'll persuade them to eat it".

"I'll help too" declared Draco.

Ron, of course, hung back as he tended not to be any good around kids. Harry didn't begrudge him. Some people were better at handling certain situations than others.

Just then Harry's parents entered the kitchen chatting with Janice, Sirius, Remus, Tonks who was now advancing rapidly in her pregnancy and Molly and David who it seemed had just come down from their rooms as both were yawning a lot "morning everyone" Harry said as he poured cereal and milk into two plastic bowls.

Once he was done he handed them to Hermione and walked over to give his family members hugs "Happy Christmas everyone" he said loudly and happily "where are Mr and Mrs Weasley?" he asked.

His dad sighed "Arthur's having to deal with some paperwork at the Ministry" he said regretfully "he'll be home around midday".

Ron and Ginny both looked disappointed at the news but said nothing.

Before anyone else could speak the fireplace flared up green and out stepped two of Harry's favourite people in the world, Fred and George Weasley Ron and Ginny's elder brothers with whom he got on enormously "Fred!, George!" he greeted them with hugs "it's great to see you!" he said grinning "how's the business going?".

"Oh...you know...pretty well" Fred answered casually as George reached into a pocket of his trousers "here" George said.

Harry stared at the money that had been thrust into his hands "what's this?" he asked feeling nonplussed.

Fred rolled his eyes "what does it look like oh boy who lived?" he answered "it's your investment money plus a thousand more".

"We're doing so well we can afford it now" George told Harry.

"But it was a gift" Harry protested "you don't need to return it!".

"Oh contrare dear Harry" said Fred.

"We owe you..." George said.

"A great deal..." continued Fred.

"So we're paying you back..." George added.

"We always keep to our word" Fred declared.

"The Weasley family motto" they said together "ut debita nostrae semper Weasleys".

Harry had no idea what to say to this so he merely said "thanks guys".

The final current occupant of the house entered the kitchen then. Percy was already dressed which wasn't surprising but what did surprise everyone was that he was wearing a bright green elf costume "err...Perce" Fred began cautiously.

"Why the costume?" George finished.

Percy grinned at them "I had the idea the other week. We've got a special visitor coming today and I figured Lily and Harry would like it".

"You look like a prat" Ron snorted. Ginny slapped her brother on the back of the head "ignore him Percy you look great" she smiled at him.

"What did you hit me for?!" Ron demanded irritably.

"Because Ronald, you were being a prat" Hermione declared.

* * *

The morning passed by fast with Harry and the other elders keeping David and the Twins happy and occupied with snowball fights, games of hide and seek, broom rides and a Punch and Judy show which Harry really enjoyed doing.

Before anyone knew it it was one pm.

Sadly there would be few guests joining them this year. Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore had to stay at Hogwarts to watch over the remaining students as few as they were while the Grangers had of course been killed. Only Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Andromeda Tonks, her husband Ted, Neville and his formidable Grandmother Augusta arrived for the celebrations.

Christmas dinner had just been set out on various tables in the drawing-room and everyone had begun to help themselves when Mr and Mrs Weasley entered the drawing-room looking apologetic "my apologies for us not being here earlier" Mr Weasley said to the Manor residents and the guests "I am afraid we were very busy at the Ministry this morning" he informed them all.

"It's not a problem Arthur" James said beaming "we're just glad you and Molly could make it".

"Have no fear" Molly replied "nothing would keep us away from Christmas with our family and friends" everyone cheered at this pronouncement.

Once everyone had helped themselves to food they all sat down. Those who were religious said prayers of thanks and those who weren't politely kept silent.

Everyone was soon tucking into the succulent feast that was Christmas dinner.

Harry had helped himself to a bit of everything and spent most of the meal eating except for chatting a little to Ginny who was seated next to him.

Once the House Elves Tipper, Molter and Dobby had cleared the plates, bowls and cutlery away James said "Tipper, Molter, Dobby, take the rest of the day and all of tomorrow off".

The three House Elves were horrorstruck at the very idea "is you not pleased Master James?" Tipper the old Potter elf croaked miserably.

James chuckled "god no Tipper" he replied reassuring him "it's not that at all. We all just feel you deserve a few days off to do...whatever it is you most enjoy...aside from cleaning of course". Everyone applauded this and added their agreement.

"I..if that is the wish of Masters and Mistresses then we will" Tipper answered sounding reluctant.

"Good" James said in satisfaction and raised his glass "to Tipper, Molter and Dobby!".

The assembled company copied him. This all caused considerable embarrassment for the House Elves who Disapparated with a loud pop.

"Present time!" an excitable Sirius declared causing everyone to laugh loudly.

A lot of the time Sirius really was just like a big kid and seemed to be even more excited about present opening than even David who was usually very eager to do so.

As a matter of fact it was David and Sirius who raced each other over to the corner of the drawing-room where the ten foot tall Christmas tree stood gleaming with baubles, tinsel and other ornaments including an angel on top.

"Before we open these presents there is a surprise" Remus said with a wide smile.

David and the Twins turned to him looking really excited "what surprise?" Lily asked.

"Yeah what surprise Uncle Remus?" Harold asked.

Remus chucked as the fireplace flared up "well here comes the surprise now" he said grinning.

Out stepped a tall, wide man wearing a red Santa costume trimmed with white and black, his hood pulled up and a large sack of presents slung over his shoulder "that was an interesting experience" the man muttered and Harry grinned at the sound of his voice as he recognised it was Hagrid.

Hagrid looked over to the corner by the tree and said "oh...there ye are" he stomped over to the tree and put down the sack "ho ho ho!" he boomed "I'm Father Christmas..who has been good this year?".

"I have!" Harold declared.

"I have!" Lily shouted.

"So have I!" David said.

Hagrid laughed his usual rumbling laugh "well in that case ye three will get yer presents firs" he declared as he reached into the seemingly bottomless sack.

It took twenty minutes and the help of several people for Hagrid to empty the sack of presents but by the time he had and they had been opened everyone seemed happy.

Harry had got an autographed moving picture of the Wimbourne Wasps Seeker who was his favourite player. Hermione had got a book on Magic in Ancient Rome. Draco a book on rare potions ingredients and where to find them. On and on it went.

Once everyone had thanked Hagrid for these presents it was time to open the other which took rather a long time due to the sheer number of people there.

Once the present opening was done Harry, Ron, Draco, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Neville, Molly and David all went off to play some Quidditch along with Sirius and played several full Quidditch games before returning to the house cold and exhausted at six pm for the carol singing, dancing and other fun including a performance of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens which earned a standing ovation.

When Harry fell under his covers that night feeling exhausted but happy he couldn't help but have some apprehension about what was to happen a few days later on the 27th when a group of Order members were to storm Nott Manor to rescue Mr Ollivander the wand maker.

He just could not shake the feeling which screamed out to him that something was going to go very badly wrong. He couldn't help feeling that not everyone would be leaving the Manor alive no matter how much he tried to assure himself otherwise.

* * *

The atmosphere at Marauder Manor on the 27th of December was far from the happy, carefree and fun atmosphere that had existed in the house and grounds on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Usually the 27th would have been nothing special. No one had birthdays on this day and there was nothing to commemorate.

But today was different as many members of the Order of the Phoenix assembled within the drawing-room having been brought there by Professor Dumbledore to go over last minute details and assign teams and leaders for the assault on the Manor.

James stood next to Albus Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley as various details were discussed and finalised with himself chipping in when the need arose.

It had been decided in this meeting that there would be three assault teams. One for the front, one for the back and one for the sides of the Manor to ensure they had maximum coverage of the area surrounding the house and when moving in.

James was to lead one team, Sirius another and the final team would be led Arthur who had continued to insist on being there to fight.

"We cannot say for sure whether or not Voldemort will be present at the Manor" Dumbledore informed them "unfortunately our spy is not there so is not able to confirm either way.

This gave many people pause for thought as it was one thing to fight Deatheaters and even Dementors but quite another to fight one of the strongest and most evil wizards to have ever lived "should he indeed be present, send me a Patronus here at the Manor where I shall be waiting and I shall join you there to hold him off" everyone was shocked though few were surprised by this announcement as they all knew that Dumbledore was no coward.

The plans having been finalised James went over to his children "you guys behave yourselves here" he said "and try not to worry too much okay?" he said calmly though inside he felt anything but.

"You be careful" said Harry unable to hide the fear and concern out of his voice as a tear escaped from his eye.

Molly was openly crying.

James grabbed his children in a tight almost bone crushing hug as he felt the tears coming. He looked over to Peter and Celia and Sirius and Janice seeing them doing the same as he was while Arthur and Xenophilius were also saying goodbye to their children.

James and the others left and headed out of the Manor, through the grounds and down to the wrought iron gates at the edge of the wards.

Once they were outside the grounds of the Manor the large number of witches and wizards Apparated or used portkeys to reached the edge of Nott Manor's wards.

"This could take some time" Remus murmured as he waved his wand and examined the wards.

Sirius who had been doing the same nodded in agreement "I'm afraid it will. These words are, unsurprisingly, strong".

"Of course you know the second we start trying to lower the wards the Deatheaters will be alerted to our presence" Peter murmured.

"I know" James replied seriously "but we have no choice but to do this. Pass the word along you three. Everyone of us who is good at wards will help to disassemble it".

Peter, Remus and Sirius went off to various Order members to inform them of this and around half of those in the assault force stepped forward to help work on the wards.

James was annoyed to be right as the wards did indeed take several hours to be lowered enough to create a gap for them to storm through.

Once they did they raced across the grounds moving to their positions as wizards and witches wished each other good luck.

James' assault group moved to the front of the Manor and waited for the distraction attacks on the side and rear of the house.

Shouts soon sounded which told them that many Deatheaters had spilled out and battle had commenced in various areas of the grounds.

James' group themselves were forced to do battle with several Dementors as they reached the front doors "Bombarda!" James bellowed as he aimed his wand.

The doors splinted into hundreds of pieces as very little remained standing "come on!" James yelled as he stormed ahead followed by Peter, Charlie Weasley, Fred and George Weasley, Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Celia and Lucy.

The moment the Orders members entered the Entrance Hall they were fire upon by several concealed Deatheaters.

After a moment of back and forth spell fire James shouted "Wormtail can you see them?!".

Peter who was nearer to the drawing room doors replied "yeah...there's ten of them just inside the drawing-room!".

"Bugger it!" James shouted in frustration. Their task had just got much more difficult.

James thought for a moment attempting to make a decision before deciding "Charlie" Charlie snapped his head in James' direction "you go left with Fred, George and Lucy" Charlie nodded.

"Celia" she looked at him "you take Alicia, Katie and Angelina and go right" she nodded.

"Peter we'll go straight ahead" he determined. His best friend nodded seriously showing no hint of nerves "lets do this then" said Peter.

"Right. Everyone get into position and give us covering fire" the eight other witches and wizards rushed into position and began to rapidly fire spells at the enemy, many of whom were forced to stop firing and duck for cover as a result.

"Now!" James said loudly and he and Peter sprinted forward into the room firing at the enemy.

One of the sofa's in the room had been turned over to serve as a barrier and James shouted "Confringo!". A red light zoomed from his wand and slammed into the sofa which exploded into shards of wood and fragments of fabric.

To James' disappointment none of the Deatheaters had been hurt by the blast having got out of the way just in time necessitating a full on duel.

The spell had however given the other members of the assault team the time to sprint into the room themselves and soon the room was full of the sounds of battle as the wizards and witches duelled fiercely.

James found himself up against Igor Karkaroff whom he battled for seemingly forever as they traded spell after spell. James received a slash to the torso while he retaliated by stunning Karkaroff and slicing open his left leg.

Out of the corner of his eye James saw Charlie Weasley being blasted by a jet of green light. His eyes widened as the second oldest Weasley boy slumped to the floor dead "nooooo!" he heard Fred and George bellow and cry out in rage and grief.

The fall of Charlie left the assault ten facing a ten to eight fight.

To James' immense relief Karkaroff made a mistake allowing James to call out "Expeliarmus!" the tall mans wand flew from his hand and into James'.

James wasted no time as he shouted "Flippendo!". The unarmed Karkaroff was defenceless as the spell slammed into him knocking him through the air.

The wizard smashed into an old grandfather clock on a far wall. There was the sound of breaking glass and splintering wood as Karkaroff hit it and lay still in the clocks ruins. Without even looking James knew the man was dead.

He rushed back into the fight taking on another Deatheater and could see that the fight was turning in favour of the assault team.

Another Deatheater fell and this was enough for the others who fought a fighting retreat as they either Apparated away or fled from the house.

James waved the others to let them go "leave them they aren't important" he told the others. He took Peter aside "you come with me and get the others to look after Fred and George" he said casting a sympathetic glance at the two grief stricken twins as they held their older brother in their arms and wept.

Without saying a word Peter rushed off to inform the others and then rejoined James as they moved from the room towards a set of stairs at it's opposite end.

They ran down the stairs and James could tell that the door had for whatever reason not been sealed magically.

James stood back as Peter aimed his wand at the door "Bombarda!" the metal door was blasted from it's hinges flying across the room to rest against a far wall.

The two of them entered the room and began to search. James was searching a dark corner near a cupboard when Peter shouted "oh my god!. James get over here!". He froze. Whatever Peter had found must be very bad for his friend to call him over.

He cast his lit wand around the dark room spotting Peter standing in the left hand corner bent over someone.

He ran over and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the wizard within the room who clearly Mr Ollivander "what have they done to him?" he said in horror and disgust at the way the old wizard had been treated.

"By the looks of it he's been beaten, starved and tortured by them" Peter said sounding like he was going to be sick. James didn't blame him. He felt sick too "is he breathing?" he asked Peter who had some medical training. Peter knelt down and checked heart and pulse "he is but it's weak" his friend replied.

James decided immediately "we need to get him straight to Hogwarts" he declared "St Mungo's is too exposed".

Peter nodded "floo network?".

"Floo network" James agreed "anything else would be too dangerous for him".

The two of them set to work getting the unconscious wizard out of the room.

As they reached the drawing-room carrying Mr Ollivander between them the others gasped in shock at the sight of the wand maker "we need to get him out of here right away" James told them "someone needs to go to the other two assault groups and make sure they leave the Manor".

Two them volunteered to go to the assault groups, Peter and Celia would take Mr Ollivander safely to Hogwarts while Fred, George, Angelina, Lucy and James would return to the Manor to speak to Dumbledore and comfort Mrs Weasley.

Informing Dumbledore would be the easy part.

He had no idea how he was going to break the news of Charlie's death to Mrs Weasley...


	61. Chapter 61

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns all rights to Harry Potter

* * *

Chapter Sixty One: Aftermath and Destruction of the Locket

James arrived on the edge of the wards and walked through the wards alongside Lucy as the two of them were comforting George who was devastated while Angelina comforted her boyfriend Fred who was crying into her shoulder.

The moment they entered the wards to pops sounded and Tipper appeared alongside Dobby "Master and Mistress is back!" the squeaked happily only for his face to fall when he saw their sad expressions and the grief plain on the faces of Fred and George "Charlie Weasley was killed in the battle at Nott Manor" James told them quietly.

Both House Elves were very upset by his as they had got on very well with Charlie when he had visited the Manor due to his manners and respect "can you look after Fred and George?" James asked them both.

The two House Elves nodded emphatically "we shall be honoured to look after young master Weasleys" Dobby declared for them both. James smiled at them "thank you" he said sincerely. The two House Elves rushed over to the grieving Weasleys and began to offer comfort to them.

James and Lucy offered their condolences before heading into the house itself.

The walked across the Entrance Hall and pushed open the doors of the drawing-room. From inside James could hear a voice which sounded anxious. It was Harry "I just wish they'd sent a Patronus or something so we know how they're getting on" he said.

Another voice spoke "I am sure we shall hear something soon my boy" Dumbledore said in a reassuring tone.

James and Lucy entered the drawing-room to find Harry, Draco, Molly, David, Lily, Harold, Ron, Luna and Ginny sitting next to each other on the floor, on sofa's or in armchairs. Dumbledore was sat down next to Harry and Ginny.

"I believe some of your family have returned already Harry" Dumbledore said. James saw Harry glance at Dumbledore in surprise before his son's eyes fixed on him "mum!, dad!" he shouted as he bolted from his seated followed closely by Draco, David, Molly and the Twins "I'm so glad you're both okay!" Harry exclaimed as he pulled them both into a tight hug that was joined by his equally relieved siblings.

Even Harold and Lily who were too young to know what was happening could tell something had been going on as they clung tightly to their aunt and uncle.

"We're fine" James assured them "but I'm sad to say our assault group lost one of our number".

He saw the horrified look on his son's face before Harry asked him "who?" in a voice that was almost a whisper.

"You'd better call Ron and Ginny over" Lucy told her son softly.

Harry looked up at her his face turning white. He nodded and went over to Ron and Ginny. A few moments later he returned being followed by Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville and Hermione all of whom looked curious, anxious and uncertain.

"What's up?" asked Ron sounding worried.

James took a deep breath "Ron, Ginny, I'm sorry. It's your brother Charlie" he said sadly "he was killed by a Deatheater in the Nott Manor drawing-room".

Ron went extremely pale while Ginny usually so strong broke down sobbing on Harry's shoulder as he held his grief stricken fiancee.

"How did it happen?" Ron asked in a choked voice.

"He was killed by the Killing Curse" Lucy said "I'm sorry Ron, Ginny. I'll go make you both some tea" she said as she gave them both a kiss on the forehead and then left the room to ensure they didn't see her crying.

James stood there helping to comfort them while Hermione drew her boyfriend/fiancee into a tight hug. For once Ron gave into the tears and wept as he let his grief pour from him.

After comforting Ron and Ginny for a short while James went over to Dumbledore who looked solemn "a very sad day" the older wizard said sadly "how did the mission go?" he asked.

James sighed "well we managed to rescue Ollivander" he told Dumbledore.

"I assume by your lack of happiness at this that he is in a very bad condition" the wizard guessed being on point as usual.

James nodded "they've beaten him, tortured him and starved him. He's been exposed to Dementors, had fingernails pulled you name it they've probably done it to him" he reported seriously.

Dumbledore "well...at least the poor man is alive. I only hope he will recover. Regardless it sounds like he will be unable to answer questions for some time".

"A few months would be my guess" James said, giving his opinion.

After some time the fireplace flared green. Peter and Celia exited it walking over to James and Dumbledore "he's being cared for by Madam Pomfrey" Peter told them. Neither man had a need to ask who he meant.

"Is he awake yet?" James asked hopefully only to swear when Peter shook his head "Madam Pomfrey told us he will not wake for a few days at least. He was very badly treated by Voldemort's followers" he said sadly.

While the four of them were talking more people began to arrive via the floo and via Apparation.

After several others had appeared Arthur and Molly both arrived at the Manor ashen faced. James noticed that Molly was shaking violently. Both had tears in their eyes and their eyes were red raw from crying 'I can't even imagine' he thought sympathetically. He had lost his first wife but thankfully had never known the awful pain of losing a child. In all honesty he knew that if Harry or Molly or any of the others died he would not be able to go on.

"Arthur, Molly" he said quietly "I...I'm so sorry".

Molly said nothing as Lucy and Celia walked over to her enfolding her in their arms. There the three women stood for a long time.

James and Peter walked over to Arthur as did Dumbledore "Arthur today is a tragic day" Dumbledore said "I am at your disposal should you need anything" he patted the man's shoulder comfortingly as did James and Peter.

At one point Molly hugged all of her children at the same time as tears rolled down her cheeks. When she let them go James saw his son go over to her and heard his words as he said "Mrs Weasley...I...there are no words really" he pulled her into the same hug she had given him so many times before and James had to smile briefly at the maturity his seventeen year old son displayed.

The atmosphere was very sombre when Sirius entered the drawing-room alone.

James took one look at his friend, his brothers face and knew instinctively that something was wrong. Something very bad had happened. Sirius looked like he'd been sick. He'd definitely been crying as the red eyes showed.

James whispered to Remus and Peter who were next to him "Sirius is back...somethings wrong". His two brothers looked over at Sirius and nodded in agreement.

Without needing to say anything James walked over to Sirius and knew without looking back that Peter and Remus were following behind him.

When they reached him they didn't even have to say anything as he spoke first in a hollow, dead sounding voice "Janice is dead...Killing Curse...Bellatrix did it...she got away".

James' heart was in his mouth as he heard the words. He just couldn't believe it. Janice was dead. A member of their clan...their family...was gone!.

He had felt so sorry people during the First Wizarding War and now during this war as family members and friends were killed several people they knew and cared about had already been killed in this new war but James had never imagined that it would happen to them.

His eyes flicked over to David who was chatting to Harry about something. He swallowed wondering how the hell he was ever going to be able to tell David something so big...something so life changing.

And as for Draco...well...he'd had another mother once a long time ago but if it hadn't been for Sirius sharing memories of her he wouldn't even remember. The only mother Draco had ever really know was Janice and now...now he had no mum at all. He resolved in that moment to be there as much as possible not just for his wife or Sirius but for Draco and David and the others who would take this very hard.

Janice had been loved by all of them for her fun personality and kind heart. James would miss her so much.

One look at Sirius told him that his brother would not be in any condition to comfort David yet. He knew Sirius would be able to look out for David soon but not for today.

"Keep an eye on Sirius" James told them "I need to tell Celia and Lucy and then we need to...break the news to David and the others".

Remus and Peter both nodded sadly. James knew they were both just as devastated as he was with the loss of Janice.

He spotted the two women standing over by the Christmas tree. As he drew level with them he took in their strained faces and their worried voices "do you think she'll be alright?" asked Celia.

Lucy sighed "I don't know...I think so but..." she shrugged "she's going to be a mess for awhile".

James coughed slightly to announce his presence and the two women turned towards him "is everything alright darling?" Lucy asked her husband in concern.

James shut his eyes for a moment, took a deep breath and said "I don't quite know how to say this but...Janice...she..uh...she's dead".

You could have a pin drop at this announcement. For a long moment no one spoke and then Celia asked "what happened to her?".

James could see that Lucy was crying. Janice had been her best friend and James knew the loss was going to hit her very hard "she was duelling with Bellatrix Lestrange Sirius' cousin" Celia took a sharp breath "Bellatrix hit her with the Killing Curse. Sirius saw the whole thing but couldn't get to her in time".

As Lucy wept uncontrollably James rubbed her back consolingly before looking at Celia. She understand at once "go and tell the children" she said in a choked but strong voice "I'll comfort Lucy til you come back over here" James nodded "thank you Celia" he said sincerely as he gave her a smile and kissed her cheek.

He walked over to the fireplace where Harry, Draco, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, Neville, Molly and David were all stood chatting. James noted that as he walked across the room Tipper, Molter and Dobby took Lily and Harold out of the room no doubt to put them to bed.

"Uncle James" Draco said as he was first one to spot him "somethings happened" he guessed immediately "what is it?".

James looked from one face to the other as they stared at him in curiously, anxiety and despair depending on their personalities.

He turned to David and Draco as he spoke his first words "boys I'm so sorry to have to tell you this" he choked back tears. Now was not the time for him to cry "you mother is dead".

The effect of these words on the two boys and on the others was instantaneous as Draco and David gaped at him. David looked confused while Draco looked as if his whole world had been blasted apart "d..d...dead?" Draco stuttered in disbelief and shock.

James nodded sadly as Harry and Ginny pulled a crying David into their embrace "I...but...no...I...she can't be" Draco stuttered out in denial "no...it's not possible".

James shut his eyes for a moment and opened them again "I'm sorry Draco but it is...and it has happened. I wish I could say otherwise. I wish I could say she wasn't. Wish that I could take this pain away but she is gone".

"I..." Draco crumbled. He may have been seventeen but seventeen was not far off being a child. James recognised his nephews strong need for some comfort and pulled him into a hug which was soon joined by an equally upset but comforting Luna.

As James sat in bed that night he held his weeping wife in his arms.

'Yes' he thought 'today has been one of the worst days of my life'.

As he turned the light out and pulled his wife close to him he felt glad that the day was over but knew from his own dreadful experience that for them the process of grieving had only just begun.

* * *

Harry woke on Sunday the 4th of January feeling very rough and depressed. As he slowly got showered and changed into his funeral suit he knew that today was not going to be any better than the last two had been for him, his family and any of those he cared about.

The 2nd of January had been David's tenth birthday party 'what a birthday' Harry reflected sadly as he finished tying his shoe laces.

Despite the collective grief of the family who still felt the loss of Janice as keenly on that day as the day she had died they had still grouped together as a family and done their best for David with them putting up decorations and making food.

The presents had already been purchased on Boxing Day.

To the surprise of no one the ever sensitive David who seemed to be a mix of his parents in personality had spent much of his birthday in his bedroom only coming down after Harry and Draco persuaded him that the family were very worried about him and wanted to make sure he was alright.

There had been many hugs for David and kisses from the women and he had opened his presents which had cheered him up some, at least it did until he got to the present from his parents and he began to cry loud and long as he'd read the card that came with it.

Overall Harry had felt very pleased when the day had ended and his brother had been put to bed as it had given him, Draco and Molly the chance to sit in his room and reminisce over happier times.

Yesterday which was the 3rd of January had been a very sad and upsetting day for everyone as Charlie Weasley the cheeky, cheerful and friendly dragon obsessed second son of Arthur and Molly Weasley had been buried.

Harry could remember every part of the funeral service from the coffin being carried up the aisle to the hymns and the eulogies, to the prayers and right up to the coffin being lowered into the cold, hard, snow covered ground.

He had spent the entire ceremony comforting a devastated and weeping Ginny for whom the whole thing was still very fresh.

As bad as that day had been today would be worse for the simple fact that it was a member of Harry's close family being buried today.

Harry's Aunt Janice who had been around from the time Harry was a small boy and who had always had time to answer his questions, read him stories and tell him jokes, was dead and gone with her body to be buried within the grounds of Marauder Manor.

They could have chosen a churchyard but had instead constructed a mausoleum for the woman they all loved in which her body would be interred for all time.

He knew that getting through the service and the wake would be a major challenge for him but it was one he was determined to meet head on and not fail in.

He knew that as bad as it was for him it was even worse for his brothers Draco and David for they had lost their mother one of the people who loved them unconditionally and had always supported them in everything they did.

As Harry adjusted his black tie he still had trouble coming to terms with the whole thing.

Only two days before she'd been killed his aunt had been playing the piano and singing Christmas carols lustily alongside the rest of the family and guests during the Christmas party.

To Harry, her being gone singled out just how fleeting life truly was. People were here one minute and gone the next.

The way things were going Harry had no assurance that anyone he cared about would survive this war in one piece.

As it was several people he cared about were now dead while Bill Ron's older brother had lost an eye, Fleur had lost several fingers on one hand and Harry's Uncle Remus had had a nasty leg wound that nearly required amputation.

A loud knocking sound on his bedroom door drew him from his thoughts and he called out "come on in, doors unlocked" the door opened and Molly stood there.

He looked at her and she at him. She burst into tears.

He crossed the room in a few quick strides, gathered her in his arms and held her close "I know" he mumbled "I know...it'll be alright...sssh...it'll be okay" he mumbled these words to her over and over for several minutes before Molly broke the hug herself "mum says it's time for you to come down since the service will be starting soon".

Harry nodded sadly "lets go down then" he said in a voice with more inner strength than he believed he possessed.

He and Molly walked down the stairs in silence supporting each other as they went.

They walked through the Entrance Hall and into the kitchen where they found their parents waiting for them "are you two holding up alright?" James asked them both kindly.

They looked at each other and then to their father. They nodded "you're both so brave" Lucy said emotionally as she pulled them into a hug.

The four of them headed outside to the area where the funeral was to take place.

Many rows of seats had been placed in front of the mausoleum for the service. A raised platform and a podium was also there for the person conducting the ceremony and those giving eulogies.

Harry and his family were all to be seated in the first row and David was already there sat next to Harry's Mother.

Lucy was giving as much comfort as she could to Harry's younger brother who was currently cuddled into her, his eyes tearful. Harry knew he was crying and his heart broke for him 'poor David' he thought sadly.

It had been bad for Harry when he had lost his birth Mum Lily but due to his young age in some ways it was better as he remembered little about it himself while David being ten years old would remember it for the rest of his life.

Harry knew that his brother had been suffering from nightmares ever since it had happened and he despaired over it as he thought of his own nightmares.

"Go and make sure David's alright Moll's" he instructed his sister who nodded and went over to where Lucy and David sat.

Harry cast a last sad glance at his brother before going off to join his father, uncles and brother who were all to carry the coffin alongside him as a pallbearers.

When he joined them in front of the coffin their faces were solemn as he had expected. Not surprisingly to Harry his Godfather Sirius who had loved Janice more than life itself was crying as he approached them.

"Alright Prongslet?" Peter asked as he ruffled Harry's hair. For once he didn't protest the gesture and nodded "yeah I'm bearing up" Peter and Remus both flashed him a smile and his dad rubbed his back in support.

He watched as his father went to Sirius and whispered some words. He couldn't hear Sirius' reply but saw him nodding his head before the pair of them went to opposite side of the coffin and grasped the handles firmly.

"That's our cue" Remus told Harry quietly. Harry nodded and went to the left hand side in the middle of the coffin, took up the handle with a firm grip and waited "ready?...lift!" James called out.

As one, the six of them lifted the coffin into the air above their heads and began to walk forwards to the area near the open grave when the coffin would rest until the ceremony was concluded.

As Harry walked he felt nervous that he would trip over and cause chaos but he knew that this fear would make it more likely to happen and so he squashed it down and kept moving.

They soon reached the area near the graveside and set the coffin down slowly and gently.

Harry and the others then went to their seats and sat down.

Dumbledore was there in his capacity as both Leader of the Order of the Phoenix and Chief Warlock and had been chosen to conduct the service.

As a result he now stood up from his seat, climbed the steps onto the raise the platform and took up position behind the podium ready to speak. He cleared his throat and said "good morning everyone and on behalf of the Marauder Clan may I say welcome and thank you for being here to support them on this most solemn of occasions".

Harry could see that even the normally impassive Headmaster looked upset over Janice's death "the event of Janice' death at Nott Manor on the 27th of December was a truly tragic occurrence. She was a wonderful women taken before her time. Janice was not a religious woman" he smiled "but under her requests she asked for this piece of music to be played".

Dumbledore turned away from the crowd "bear with me a moment" he said as he switched on a magical made cd player that ran on magical energy "ah here we are" he mumbled as he put the cd in and switched the player on.

As the first familiar strains blared out around the grounds and into the ears of those in attendance Harry smiled widely. It was one of his aunt's favourite songs despite being a novelty song, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

He glanced at the other members of his family and his friends to find most of them grinning or even laughing as the song played.

He allowed himself a quick laugh 'leave it up to good old Aunt Janice to break people out of this sombre mood' he thought fondly as he recalled the many occasions she'd joked, pranked or played her music to cheer people up or liven up the atmosphere.

Several people stood up to make speeches about Janice and what she had meant to them or done for them.

It was now Draco's turn and Harry was impressed with the strength his brother projected as he stood up promptly upon being called and strode with confidence up the steps and onto the stage.

He took a moment to clear his throat and then began "my Mother Janice Black was one of those rare people in life who never said a bad word of anyone, not even those she disliked" there was much nodding at this "not only was she the kindest woman I ever knew, she was also the most fun" he grinned and given that my father and uncles are Marauders that is saying something".

Most everyone chuckled at this. Even Sirius, Harry noticed, was smiling at the words. Harry felt proud of his brother who continued to speak "she was a woman who loved and lived life to it's fullest extent and we all loved her for it" many people nodded in agreement.

After speaking for awhile longer he rounded off his speech "there are only two things I regret as regards my mother" he said "the first is that I did not tell her often enough just how much she meant to me and how much..." he choked for a moment "how much I loved her".

He took a moment to compose himself "and the second is that I wish she could be here for when myself and my wonderful and beautiful fiancee Luna..." he blew a kiss to her "get married. The only words I now have to say is that "I love you mum and I will miss you for the rest of my life".

He placed a hand on the coffin rubbing along it before whispering "goodbye mum. We'll meet again someday".

He walked back to his place on the front row and into a tearful hug from Sirius who looked both sad and proud at the same time "that was a wonderful speech son" he said "well done" he kissed Draco on the forehead, something he had not done in years and then moved past his son and on up onto the stage and behind the podium.

For a few moments Sirius shuffled his papers, cleared his throat and coughed a little. He finally spoke "the first time I met my wife Janice was in the Ministry of Magic. She was a junior member in the Department of Magical Transportation".

He smiled at the memory "I met her in the lift and recognised she'd been to Hogwarts. I remember that I tried to chat her up" he laughed "she gave me the brush off saying that my quote un quote lothario act wouldn't work on her. I was shocked at the refusal and it just made me want to try harder" he smiled "I tried for months and months. A year or so she gave in and agreed to a date" he laughed again "though I think it was more out of a sense of wanting to get it over with than anything" the crowd laughed with James, Remus and Peter laughing the hardest of anyone.

"I've wondered a lot of times over the many years of our marriage just what a reckless idiot like me did to deserve such a wonderful kind woman. I realised a few days ago that it was fate. Me and Janice were destined to be together and that is why it worked".

The speech went on for ten more minutes before he finished "the only thing really left for me to say is that I love my darling wife and will always love her. I wish she could be here to see our younger son attend Hogwarts and our older son married...such is the way of life however and I realised that with my wife's caring and fun loving personality she wouldn't want me to mope about. To feel sorry for myself" he waggled a finger "no. She would want me to enjoy life and be there for our amazing children".

He walked over to the coffin and kissed the lid "goodbye my love. I miss you everyday". He returned to his seat as Dumbledore thanked all of the guests for coming and final part of the service began as Harry, Draco, Sirius, James, Peter and Remus all picked up Janice' coffin and carried it slowly, almost reverently from the stage and down to the mausoleum inside which a stone grave had been constructed. The coffin was placed inside, final words of goodbye were uttered and then the service was over.

In spite of the solemn day Harry was glad that Sirius had been lifted of out his funk and that the wake was a bit livelier than expected.

Music was played, much alcohol consumed and many speeches were made as people reminisced about the good times with Janice and all of her good qualities.

For his part Harry felt glad that this was the way the wake was going as he knew it would make his aunt happy to see everyone enjoying themselves rather than giving into brooding. He himself shared many memories, stories from his childhood of pranks his aunt had played or helped plan. Of her teaching him the piano and taking the kids for nature rambles, picnics and football.

In the late afternoon Harry, Draco, Molly, Luna, Ginny, Neville Ron and Hermione returned to Hogwarts via the floo network as they had not been able to catch the Hogwarts Express due to the time at which the funeral and wake had taken place.

Harry had the feeling that he had drunk too much as he staggered out of Dumbledore's fireplace at at four pm.

Dumbledore of course, had been at the service and had returned with them via the floo as had Professor McGonagall.

"I understand you all need some time to settle in" said Dumbledore softly "but please inform me when you make a meeting as we have a very important task to complete and we must meet with Mr Ollivander and Griphook as soon as Mr Ollivander has recovered enough".

They all nodded and with the help of the Professors they un-shrunk their luggage which Dumbledore assured them would be sent up to their dormitories soon.

* * *

A week had passed following the return of the New Marauders to Hogwarts. They had settled back into the routine of castle life on the first day back.

That Saturday after the Defence Association meeting had ended, the group headed from the Great Hall to meet Professor Dumbledore with whom they had agreed to meet that evening "when do you think old Ollivander will be better?" Ron asked ponderingly.

Harry thought about the question for a moment "I don't think he'll be up and about until the beginning of February at least" said Harry "but we may be able to speak to him soon, perhaps the end of this month".

"I hope it is sooner" Ginny said shivering. He knew she was thinking about not just the dangers of breaking into the bank but also the need to destroy all of the remaining accursed Horcruxes to make Voldemort mortal.

Harry squeezed her hand in comfort and replied "me too Gin Gin. Me too".

They reached the stone gargoyles guarding the staircase and Harry promptly said "chocolate eclairs" the gargoyles leapt aside "I still say it's not fair you have all the passwords in advance" his brother muttered in annoyance.

Harry grinned "perks of the job brother mine. Perks of the job" his brother scowled which caused the others to guffaw loudly.

The seven of them piled onto the stairs and stood still as it spun upwards to it's destination which it reached quickly.

The group soon found themselves walking down the now familiar corridor and entering the familiar office of the Headmaster "ah, good evening Harry, Ron, Draco, Neville, Hermione, Ginny, Luna" he said with a smile "I am glad you were all able to take some time to meet me this evening as we have a major task ahead of us".

Dumbledore moved round to the back of his desk. There was the sound of a click, a drawer being pulled open and then the sound of an object being slapped down on the Headmasters desk.

The old wizard carefully unwrapped it and everyone found themselves staring down at Horcrux number five. Harry knew that if they destroyed the locket tonight they then need only retrieve and destroy the Horcrux inside the Cup of Hufflepuff and Nagini the snake and the way would be clear for the epic showdown between himself and Voldemort.

Harry hoped it would be sooner rather than later as he had many things to pay back the vile wizard for.

Once the locket was unwrapped Harry found himself staring in wonderment at how such an object could possibly have a part of an evil wizards soul inside it.

He soon shook himself out of his reverie as Dumbledore placed the Sword of Gryffindor down on the desk with a thump and said "talk amongst yourselves and decide who shall destroy this Horcrux".

Harry and the six other New Marauders stood in a huddle trading words back and forth as it seemed that all of them wished to destroy it.

In the end Ron said "I want to be the one to destroy it". Harry knew Ron was feeling a bit useless and wanted to feel like he was doing something to help so he readily agreed wanting to show Ron how much he meant to them all.

Ginny, Luna and Hermione also agreed immediately.

Draco and Neville had words of caution "watch for when the locket opens" Draco cautioned the redhead "the soul will no doubt show some vision in an attempt to trick you and turn you against us".

"He's right Ron" said Neville "I read it in the book: Horcruxes and where they come from" Neville shuddered "be careful mate, we don't want anything to happen to you".

Ron patted their shoulders and seemed grateful for the advice.

He strode forwards to the desk and took the sword from the desk. He shifted about in his hands for awhile before turning to the others "hey, it is really light weight isn't it!" he said in surprise.

He turned back to the focus of his being there. Dumbledore walked round the desk, patted Ron on the shoulder and went to stand with the others who were watching intently all except for Harry who strode forwards. He recalled what Neville had said was in the book on Horcruxes and knew his ability would be needed to open it.

He only hoped once he did open it that his best friend had the strength of character to survive whatever the soul fragment would throw at him.

Harry cleared his throat and began to speak with the sound no doubt sounding odd even to those who had heard it previously. The locket sprang open, Ron hefted the sword above his head ready to strike and then...then it all seemed to stop.

A high cold voice that made Harry shudder began to issue forth from the locket. It was a voice he'd recognise anywhere...Voldemort.

"I have seen your dreams Ronald Weasley" Voldemort said laughing cruelly "I have seen your fears" Harry gaped at Ron as the tall redhead stumbled and fell backwards scrambling away from the desk and the locket. Whatever he was seeing was clearly terrifying him as he shouted "no!, no!, get away!" and continued to scramble back.

The voice spoke again "least successful of all your brothers. Least loved by your parents who wanted a daughter".

"Ron whatever it's saying don't listen!" Harry shouted as a lead weight settled in his stomach. He'd seen what happened when people listened to Voldemort "please ignore it and destroy the Horcrux!" he shouted desperately but Ron just stood there transfixed on the locket.

Figures began to emerge from the locket and not just any figures. Harry watched in horror along with the others as the smoky figures coalesced into forms of Himself and Hermione "wh..what...how?" he mumbled in shock.

He cast a look back at the others who were equally shocked. Even Dumbledore, usually so calm and reserved seemed floored by what he was witnessing.

The two figures stood side by side grinning and looking down at Ron "why are you still part of our group?" the fake Harry demanded "we don't need you and we don't want you".

The fake Hermione laughed "you are nothing compared to him" she said of the fake Harry "how could anyone love YOU next to HIM?!" they laughed for a moment cruelly before the two figures began to kiss passionately.

Ron seemed to be brimming with anger. Tears were forming in his eyes as he turned round. Harry gulped and began backing away.

There was a mad look in his best friends eyes as he stalked forwards, sword outstretched ready to attack "Ron, Ron, listen, that's not me over there" he tried to tell him. Ron kept advancing "Ron it's tricking you!" he said louder "Ron, think about it" he said "I love your sister Ginny and I'm going to marry her. Why would I kiss Hermione...not only do I think of her as a sister but you are like a brother to me. I'd never do something so vile".

Ron kept coming "Ron stop!" Hermione shouted. She dashed forwards and gripped hold of her fiancees sword arm tightly "stop this now!" she demanded "the Horcrux in the locket is lying. Stop listening to it. I love you and only you!" she said fiercely as she grabbed him and kissed him deeply.

When she broke the kiss Harry could see the confused look in Ron's eyes as he looked at them all "wha...what?...who?...what's going on?" he asked sounding confused and shaken.

"You nearly attacked your best friend you berk!" Ginny snapped "fancy listening to a possessed object" she said sounding both angry and worried.

"What?...attack Harry?...never" he said only to look at the sword and then at Harry. He backed away in horror "no" he said sounding ill "no...I...oh my god...I'm so sorry Harry" he said sounding upset.

"Never mind that, I forgive you" Harry said quickly "turn around and destroy that damn locket" Ron nodded, a determined look on his face.

He turned away to face the locket on the desk once more. The figures continued to speak trying to tempt him "who needs you?" the fake Harry said "who wants you?" asked the fake Hermione "leave" they both said.

"Argh!" Ron seemed to lose his composure as he charged, sword raised and slammed it down hard on the locket. There was an ear piercing scream as something a lot like black smoke exited the locket and disappeared.

Ron dropped the sword to the floor of the office with a clatter and stood there breathing heavily. Harry wondered what his friend was thinking. Hermione strode over to her boyfriend, turned him around and kissed him deeply.

When they had broke apart Dumbledore said rather shakily "well...I'm glad that's over with...only two more to deal with now".

He looked first at Ron and Hermione "well done Ronald and well done Hermione for..ah...convincing him" he said with a smile.

Ron and Hermione both blushed at the praise as Dumbledore turned to look at the others "I daresay you all wish to head off to your common rooms and relax after such an event" he said kindly "so I bid you all a good night and pleasant dreams".

They all said good night to the Headmaster and left the office with Harry feeling both shaken and triumphant. With the locket Horcrux gone they were one step closer to a mortal Voldemort with only two obstacles remaining.


	62. Chapter 62

Disclaimer: Everything Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling

* * *

Chapter Sixty Two: Quidditch, A Visit to Gringott's & The Love Potion

To Harry it seemed that the month of January had passed by quite slowly after the destruction of the locket Horcrux. Despite He and the other New Marauders being busy with spell practising, lessons, Quidditch and their Defence Club in addition to Harry and Hermione's Prefect duties the time had dragged.

Harry knew why. It was because he was itching for a final reckoning with Voldemort.

Every day the Quibbler, officially endorsed by the Hogwarts Ministry, brought news of tragedy as villages were attacked, individuals killed and kissed by Dementors.

Despite the sterling work done by the Hogwarts Ministry and their Auror Squad there weren't enough of them to prevent these attacks most of the time.

It was now the middle of February and a Saturday. After around two months of increasingly heavy practise it was time for the second of three Quidditch matches that Gryffindor would play with them taking on Ravenclaw in this next match today.

Harry could feel the excitement building within him as he knew that should they win then they would seal the cup with a match to spare which his ultimate goal.

He knew though that Ravenclaw would not be push overs this year with their new line up having only narrowly lost to Slytherin in Ravenclaw's first match.

As Harry prepared to head down to breakfast in the Great Hall he gazed out of the window and sighed. The rain was pouring down in torrents and was accompanied by flashes of lightning and great booms of thunder 'certainly not the ideal conditions for a Quidditch match' he thought to himself in lamentation.

The bad weather persisted as Harry and the team ate their breakfast together in the Great Hall and as they fled down the sloping lawns to the stadium at a run.

The rain, lightning and thunder only seemed to increase in intensity as Harry gave his usual team talk to the squad and led them out onto the water logged pitch.

He grinned slightly as he thought in relief of the fact it wasn't a football match as the ground would have been impossible to even move about on for long never mind trying to kick a ball on it.

The thunder boomed so loud and the rain poured so ferociously that Harry couldn't even make hear the commentary of Dennis Creevey a Fifth Year boy and the younger brother of Colin Creevey one of the Chasers.

As Harry approached the Ravenclaw team Captain Padma Patil and shook her hand he said "best of luck to you".

She smiled at the kind words and replied "the same to you Harry. Lets just try and get this match done quick eh".

Harry nodded as they went to rejoin their teams. He certainly didn't want to be out in this weather any longer than he had to.

The whistle sounded and fourteen brooms rose into the air. The match had begun.

Harry felt quite glad he had taken precautions in the face of the heavy rain as it slid past his glasses without making them so much as damp.

He scanned the sky for the elusive golden snitch hoping to end the match early.

His hopes of such a thing were to be dashed as his opposite number stuck on him doggedly.

Down below Gryffindor were in the lead but the weather was so bad that the quaffle kept slipping from players hands.

Several times as the match wore on Harry tried to catch the snitch only to be jolted off course by his opponent.

The match raged on as an in form Ron blocked the vast majority of efforts sent his way but due to the heavy rain visibility was poor meaning few goals were scored. Most of those in the crowd were sheltering under umbrellas or hoods of their coats to protect from the downpour.

After what seemed like an age Harry spotted the snitch zooming upwards very fast. Giving no thought to his opponent he zoomed off after the ball and soon heard his opponent following him.

Higher and higher their brooms climbed virtually neck and neck as they neared the snitch.

The two of them were mere fingertips away when a flash of lightning struck his opponents broom and set it alight.

Harry quickly grabbed the snitch and turned to face his opponent who was gazing at his broom in terror "help! my broom!" he wailed helplessly.

Harry knew the broom was finished. Even if he did a spell to extinguish the flames the entire back end had burned way and it was effectively becoming useless as a broom. He grabbed the boys hand and hauled him with great difficulty onto his Firebolt. The ruined broom of his opponent fell away through the clouds as the boy looked at him in gratitude "you save me!" he said awestruck.

Harry smiled "don't mention it" he replied before adding seriously "please don't mention it. I'm too famous as it is".

They descended down through the clouds and by the time they had already landed and the match was declared finished, the boys broom...or rather what was left of it had landed in a smouldering broken heap of twigs on the pitch "I'm sorry about your broom" Harry said to the younger boy kindly.

The boy sighed and shrugged "wasn't your fault" he said as he extended a hand to shake "if it wasn't for you I'd be dead now" he added as they shook hands. A moment later Harry was being swamped by six orange and red blurs as his team mates reached him shouting happily, clapping him on the back and praising his skills "we're one match away!" Draco shouted in glee.

The party in the common rooms after the match was as usual a very noisy and joyful affair as the entire tower, even those not particularly interested in Quidditch, celebrated their most recent victory.

As it happened the score without the snitch had been very close at seventy points to sixty. When Harry learned this he was even more glad that he'd managed to catch the snitch especially in such dangerous circumstances.

As fearless as Harry was he couldn't help but feel unnerved about the lightning strike and how instead of being his opponent that was hit it could have been him.

After such an incredible match there was a party held to honour the team who had nearly secured the Quidditch Cup once again.

Some time into the party he decided to head up to his dorm room to fetch some joke items as he hadn't pulled many pranks that year.

When he opened the door to the dormitory he was surprised to see Ron sitting on his bed. As he walked over to him he noted that his best friend was not angry, upset or any other negative emotion.

Ron was smiling dreamily and seemed to be far away. Harry frowned at an open box of chocolates on his bed 'I don't remember those being here' he thought in confusion before his mind pieced it together.

He was famous as the Boy Who Lived. God how he hated that name. Regardless of whether he hated the name there were many girls it seemed who wanted to date him so they could say they'd been with him.

Ron seemed to notice Harry then "she's wonderful you know Harry" he said with a grin. Harry smiled "I just wish she knew who I was" he lamented sadly.

Harry frowned feeling confused. He may be dense but he was fairly sure that Hermione knew her fiancee existed "uh..Ron" he said tentatively "I'm fairly certain Hermione knows you exist" he said.

"Hermione?" Ron replied sounding nonplussed "what's she got to do with it?".

Harry's frown deepened "well..she's...you know...your fiancee".

Ron looked at him in confusion "my heart only belongs to one woman" he said dreamily.

"Glad to hear it" said Harry.

"Romilda" Ron muttered with a far away look on his face.

"Romilda?" Harry repeated "as in...Romilda Vane?" his eyes widened in surprise. He glanced down at the box of chocolates and saw a card had been placed to the side. He picked it up and read "to my darling Harry, we'll be together soon...Romilda".

He gaped at it in shock. He'd known Romilda had a crush on him as Ginny had told him last year but he'd hoped that she would have gotten over it by now "it seems not" he muttered out loud.

"Hmm?" said Ron having heard him "hey Harry, do you think you can introduce me?".

Harry sighed "Ron don't you think Hermione will be annoyed?".

Ron got angry "oh I get it!" he said offended "don't think I'm good enough for Romilda eh?".

Harry knew there was only one thing to do. He'd have to lie. He didn't like doing so but what else could he do?. Gods only knew what Hermione would say if she heard Ron speaking like this about someone else even if he was under the control of a love potion for Harry now felt instinctively sure that was what it was "alright then Ron" he said placatingly "I'll take you to meet Romilda. She's meeting with Professor Slughorn" he lied.

"Lets go then!" Ron cried out happily as he jumped to his feet. Harry guided him down the stairs and across the common room.

They had just reached the portrait hole when Harry saw Hermione making her way over he groaned in irritation "Draco, intercept Hermione. Ron's under the sway of a love potion" he told his brother over their mental link.

A voice answered back incredulously "a love potion?...who?".

"Romilda Vane" he answered back "she fancies me and sent a box of chocolates with love potion mixed in. She used Amortentia the most powerful love potion in the world".

"Oh bloody hell!" Draco swore in disbelief "alright. I'll keep her busy while you head off to get help for him".

"Cheers brother mine" Harry replied in thanks.

"Just hurry" his brother hissed. Out of the corner of his eye Harry saw Draco reach Hermione and pull her over to where he'd been chatting with Neville about something or other.

Harry hauled the dazed Ron out through the portrait hole and off on their journey to Professor Slughorn's Office. They walked down stairs, along corridors and up more stairs. By the time they reached the Professor's Office on the Sixth Floor Harry felt totally exhausted.

He hauled Ron over to the door and rapped on it loudly. There was the sound of a bottle and glass clinking down on wood, shuffling feet and someone muttering.

In a few moments the door was open and Professor Slughorn stood in the doorway in his red velvet dressing gown and slippers looking both annoyed and puzzled at the interruption "ye...oh Harry!" the man exclaimed in surprise as he found Harry standing in front of the doorway.

His eyes drifted over to Ron as Harry said "Professor I'm really sorry to trouble you this evening but..." his eyes flicked over to Ron "we have...that is...Ron has a bit of an issue".

"Oh?" Slughorn replied puzzled "I'd have thought if he was unwell it would make sense to take him to the Hospital Wing and Madam Pomfrey rather than myself Harry" the older wizard replied.

"Normally yes Professor" Harry replied as Ron nearly fell over and he was forced to hold on tighter "but ate these chocolates containing love potion...Amortentia".

"Good grief!" the man exclaimed in disbelief "who would want to do that to young Wollenby?".

"Weasley Sir" Harry corrected.

"Oh yes. Weasley...my mistake. But who?" Slughorn said as he ushered them in and helped Harry haul Ron over to a chair near the fire.

"They weren't actually for him Sir" Harry replied as they plopped Ron down in the chair "I read the card that came with them and it was from a girl in the year bellow us in Gryffindor, Romilda Vane".

The Potions Master shook his head and tutted loudly "dear, dear, dear. What some people won't do to get people to love them" he said with disapproval as he searched for the very thing to cure it.

"Aha! here we are" the rotund man cried triumphantly as he plucked a potion vial from the shelf and walked back over to Harry and Ron near the fire.

He un-stoppered the vial and held it out to Ron "what's this?" Ron asked eyeing it in confusion.

"Just a...tonic...for the nerves...don't want you too nervous for when you speak to Miss..." he looked at Harry who supplied "Vane".

"Miss Vane" said Slughorn.

Ron smiled dazedly "ok" he said as he tipped the vial to his mouth and drank the entire contents.

For a moment nothing happened and then Ron blinked owlishly as he looked up at them "Harry?" he looked at the Professor "Professor Slughorn?". He shook his head as if attempting to clear a bad headache "what am I doing here?".

"You ate a box of chocolates laced with the Amortentia love potion" Harry told him "the potion was so potent I had to get help from the Professor here".

Ron nodded and then grimaced at the action "my head hurts" he complained.

Harry grinned, Slughorn chuckled "I'm not surprised dear boy" he said with amusement "that was one of the most powerful batches of Amortentia I've come across. It may not have been right to do but it was very impressive".

Ron's eyes widened "oh my god!" he stood up abruptly "Hermione!" he shouted as he stared at Harry in horror "what if she heard me going on about...whoever it is?...she'll kill me!".

Harry patted his best friends shoulder reassuringly "relax Ron" he said calmly "in the first place Hermione doesn't know about it yet and in the second place I'll explain it all to her".

"Who would even bother giving **me **a love potion?" Ron wondered aloud "I mean...I know I'm not too bad looking and I'm quite good at Quidditch but...I mean I'm not going to win any modelling awards...am I?" he said in confusion.

"It wasn't you that was the target" Harry told his friend.

"Well...who then?" Ron asked in puzzlement.

Harry sighed "me unfortunately".

Ron grinned "would make more sense" he said "Boy Who Lived and all that" Harry scowled. He hated that nickname and hated it being brought up "I don't know if it's because of that" he replied "but it was Romilda Vane who did it".

"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed "better not tell Ginny about it..she'll kill her" Harry had already thought of this "I'll tell her because she'll find out anyway and in any case we need to tell McGonagall. But I'll stop Ginny from hurting her" he said.

Ginny, as Ron had predicted, was furious when they told her "I'm going to give that bitch a piece of my mind!" she shouted, looking fully prepared to storm across the common room and she would have done too if Harry and her brother had not been holding her back "leave to McGonagall" he told her gently.

She turned blazing eyes on him which soon returned to normal. She still seethed with anger but nodded "you're right" she said "I'll leave it...for now".

After dinner finished in the Great Hall Harry spied Professor McGonagall heading down from the staff table and ran over to her with Ron just behind him "Professor!" he called out.

She stopped in the act of descending the steps "sorry to bother you Professor" he said politely.

"What is the problem Mr Potter?" she asked him with, lips pursed to show annoyance at being waylaid.

"I have to report an incident involving Ron and some chocolates containing love potion" he told her.

The Professor looked flabbergasted at such a thing "you had better come up to my office the pair of you and give me all of the details" without checking they were following the stern witch began to stride down the central aisle making for the double doors. Harry and Ron bolted after her soon catching up.

Up in the Professor's warm and cosy office on the First Floor of the Defence Against Dark Arts Tower Harry had just finished filling the Professor in on everything that had happened showing her the card he'd taken from the box of chocolates and informing her that there were still some left.

"Who was the note from?" she asked seriously. In answer, Harry handed over the note which McGonagall duly read her eyebrows raising higher with every word as her frown deepened.

When she had finished she set the letter down on her desk and said in a voice of barely controlled fury "I'd never have believed it possible!" she shook her head "a student from my own house usurping free will". She looked at Harry and at Ron "I'm sorry this has happened to you Mr Weasley" she said a lot more kindly than usual "please rest assured Miss Vane will be punished most severely for this".

* * *

The two months in between their second win in the Quidditch Cup had passed by very quickly for Harry and all of the New Marauders. Not only had they passed by fast but much of interest had happened.

Firstly there had been the accidental use by Romilda Vane on Ron of love potion laced chocolates intended for Harry for which, true to her word, Professor McGonagall had punished Romilda most severely making her assist Argus Filch the hated caretaker in all manner of dirty jobs such as cleaning the toilets without magic.

Apart from that and aside from the usual round of classes which were getting harder, homework which was getting more frequent and more difficult, Prefect duties which kept Harry up until two in the morning patrolling alongside Daphne Greengrass, Quidditch practise and the Defence Association meetings every Saturday there was also the Apparation lessons which Harry, Hermione and Neville had signed up for and had finished at the end of March and, oddly enough, had been quite enjoyable to do.

As they walked along the corridor to the two stone gargoyles so familiar to them by now, Harry's mind turned to an amusing incident in one of their Apparation lessons.

Harry and Neville had been nearby and the pair had been instructed to transport themselves to the others location within the hall. Concentration, the man had said, was key to success.

Harry concentrated hard and successfully Apparated across the hall to where Neville had been. He was in time to see an unusually nervous looking Neville spin on the spot and Disapparate.

For a moment Harry had thought his best friend had succeeded only to frown when he saw Neville was not on the opposite side of the hall.

He turned to look at the instructor wondering what to say and his mouth fell open as he saw Neville and the instructor attempting to extricate themselves from their tangle of limbs. It seemed that Neville, being so nervous at Apparating had panicked and thought of Apparating to the instructor instead.

Harry could barely hold back the laughter on the mix up as the instructor managed to get himself free, stood up and shook his head "Mr Longbottom you must be more careful" he chided though he did look somewhat amused.

To Neville's credit he was much more careful and much more aware of what he was doing from then on and never again did he accidentally knocked over the instructor.

It was now Good Friday the 10th of April and with it being a Bank Holiday and a half term day Harry and the others had nothing much to do having already completed their homework assignments thanks to the badgering of both Hermione and Draco who had reasoned with them that the sooner they were done with the work the sooner they could enjoy themselves and the half term much more thoroughly.

Right now though, enjoyment was the last thing on Harry's mind and, he would wager, the last thing on the minds of his friends and brother as he said the password "sugar quills" and they stepped onto the spiral staircase that led to the Headmasters living quarters.

They had received the note from Dumbledore that morning at breakfast. It had been short and to the point "meet me and Griphook in my office this afternoon after lunch. Bring the three vials of Polyjuice potion, D".

By now they knew that D meant Dumbledore and, Harry reasoned, given the planning had been completed already Dumbledore must be anxious for them to infiltrate Gringott's today to remove the Cup of Hufflepuff from Bellatrix' vault.

Harry knew that the situation in the Wizarding World was grim. Only recently Deatheaters had attacked Diagon Alley, vandalised several shops and killed a number of witches and wizards, mostly Muggleborns, before the Aurors and Order members could stop them.

He therefore understood just why they need to get the Cup and destroy the Horcrux within. Once it was gone only the snake Nagini would stand between Voldemort and mortality. And then...and then he would get his revenge.

So long Harry had wanted to destroy Voldemort the way he had almost destroyed his life and the lives of those he cared about. The evil wizard had killed his birth Mum Lily who had deserved to live. He had been responsible for the deaths of Alastor Moody, Charlie Weasley, Janice and so many others, too many to count. He knew Voldemort had to be stopped, knew too that the final battle was fast approaching, his strong connection to magic informed him so.

When Harry and the rest of the New Marauders entered Dumbledore's Office he was not surprised to find Dumbledore with company.

As a matter of fact he had been expecting the Goblin known as Griphook to be waiting with the old wizard and the fact that he was confirmed in Harry's mind the idea that the infiltration of Gringott's would be taking place today "good afternoon Harry, Ron, Draco, Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville" Dumbledore said warmly.

Harry noticed the familiar twinkle was absent the mans eyes today which meant that he was all business.

Harry greeted the Headmaster just as warmly as did the rest before turning to Griphook and repeating the polite words of greeting used to Goblins by other Goblins and by wizards and others.

When they were finished greeting him he greeted them and commented "I am very impressed by the knowledge of you all to know the greeting off by heart. It is good to see such dedication. He smiled slightly "for you will need it all if we are to succeed in our endeavour".

Harry nodded "quite so" he replied and turned to Dumbledore "are there any last minute instructions Professor?" he asked seriously wanting to be sure everything had been taken care of. It wouldn't do to leave things undone on such an important mission.

The old wizard smiled "as a matter of fact yes" he replied and turned to Hermione who looked surprised "Hermione" he said kindly "I understand that you are the one who is to be playing the part of Bellatrix".

Hermione gulped and nodded. Harry knew that she didn't like the idea of playing someone so evil even if it was necessary to their cause "in that case I have several memories taken by dear Severus on his visit to Azkaban" Dumbledore told her "and I think that you must see them in order to be able to mimic her behaviours and appearance properly to fool the Goblins as this is no easy task".

Griphook nodded "it indeed is very difficult to fool us" he said as he gave what passed for a grin.

Dumbledore guided Hermione over to the pensieve which, Harry noticed, was already out and ready for use.

Hermione dived into the memory and was gone for over an hour. Harry had just begun to worry that something was wrong when his bushy haired friend, more like a sister, emerged looking rather pale and shaken.

"That. Was. Awful" she said shortly. Harry could barely comprehend it. Having to dive into the memories of one such as Bellatrix Lestrange. He wouldn't wish it on anyone least of all Hermione.

"Are you alright, love?" Ron asked. It surprised Harry that he had said the words with so many people in the room as he usually wasn't comfortable with such displays of affection.

As he hugged her Hermione nodded "I'm alright love it just shook me up a bit. Now I know how to impersonate Bellatrix though so it was worth it" .

"Well then" said Dumbledore in a businesslike tone "now that we know Bellatrix' personality better I believe it time to finalise the details here and now before you leave for the bank".

Dumbledore, Griphook and the New Marauders were, for over an hour, engaged in discussion about various points concerning the plan to make sure they truly had dealt with all issues.

Hermione, Ron and Harry would enter the bank in disguise accompanied by Griphook, who, as an employee would be able to take them down to Bellatrix' vault showing the staff on the desk an exact copy of her key which would not work but would, Griphook assured them, fool the Goblins present.

Griphook being a member of staff would use his palm to open the door and would help them reach the Cup and get them out of the bank safely.

After a quick trip back to Gryffindor Tower Harry returned with the invisibility cloak and they all bid Dumbledore goodbye as they Apparated from his office to the Leaky Cauldron.

When they arrived there they immediately met with Old Tom who had owned the pub for decades.

"Just this way everybody" he said as he escorted them through the empty pub and into a back room. Harry felt glad that Tom was part of the Order as the man was not only full of integrity but his pub was a useful meeting place and safe house from Deatheaters.

"Once you've used the potion you'll need to leave quickly so as not to attract attention from anyone that might come in" the man explained to them. Before he left he turned to them all "good luck" he said with a smile.

Once Harry, Ron and Hermione were transformed the three of them and Griphook exited the pub through the back way into the yard, tapped the third brick from the left and stepped through the archway into Diagon Alley.

Just as they entered the alley a familiar voice called out "I hope that's really you Harry" it was Percy.

Harry grinned "it's me" he said in his usual voice.

"We need to get you to Gringott's quickly before any non Order member Aurors spot you" Percy told them as he hurried them along up the alley towards Gringott's "we've got people running interference but it only takes one person to unravel it".

Just as they neared the bank a middle aged witch screamed "argh Bellatrix Lestrange!" and tried to run away but Percy sprinted after her and shouted "Obliviate!" the woman stood looking very dazed and Percy hurried them on before she could come back to her senses.

They reached the steps of the bank without further incident and made it inside the bank. It was busy within but no one turned to look at them as they went about their usual business.

Despite the plan being very thorough Harry still felt apprehensive as the four of them reached a tall counter behind which stood a stone archway leading to the back of the bank "I found Mrs Bellatrix Lestrange outside" Griphook informed the Goblin sat at the counter without any preamble.

The Goblin who was almost bald and had a lined face stared at each of them in turn "I see" he said calmly "and does Mrs Lestrange have her key?".

Griphook showed sharp teeth as he replied "she does indeed" Hermione handed the fake key to Griphook who gave it to the other Goblin.

After a short examination which obviously showed it to be genuine the Goblin said "very well, follow me". He hopped down from his stool, key in hand and began walking to the back.

The other four followed him without comment.

They all soon reached a large cart on wheels and climbed in. Once inside, the very fast and uncomfortable ride to the vaults began.

As they descended deeper into the vault area a waterfall suddenly appeared across the track "this is the thief's downfall, be ready" Griphook whispered to Harry next to him.

Harry nodded and relayed the information to the others as they braced themselves for the cart to eject them.

As they hit the waterfall they were duly ejected along with Griphook and the other Goblin who Griphook told them was called Bogrod.

The five of them fell a long way before coming to rest a few feet from the ground and then falling the final few feet with a thump onto solid stone. As Harry picked himself up and pulled Hermione to her feet he noticed her disguise was gone, as was Ron's and he had a feeling his was too.

"Thief's!" shrieked Bogrod as he stared at them "intruders!. Sound the alarm Griphook!".

Harry had been expecting this reaction and nodded to Ron who said, very calmly "Imperio". It was as if the Goblin had swallowed a calming draft as he stropped shrieking and stood stock still with a dreamy expression on his lined face.

"We haven't got much time, let us be going" Griphook said sharply as he began to walked ahead of them towards what Harry assumed was the Lestrange family vault.

In front of which stood a large dragon which was chained up and looked miserable "shake these!" Griphook instructed as he and Bogrod handed them several things which rattled "it's been trained to respond in pain to the sound of the rattling" he informed the three of them calmly.

"That's barbaric!" Hermione exclaimed in disgust even as she reluctantly shook the rattle.

They reached the door and Griphook said "watch him while I open the door" Harry and Ron kept their wands trained on the older Goblin ready to Imperius him again if needed.

Griphook placed his palm flat against the large vault door, closed his eyes and waited. His hand print had clearly been accepted as there was a loud creaking noise and the door began to open outwards to admit them.

As they entered Harry gazed in amazement at the sheer amount of wealth within. His father was a rich man as was he but even they did not have so much in the way of galleons or of valuables "everyone look for the Cup" he instructed as he began to look round for the object.

The problem was that there were many Cups inside the vault and many looked similar to each other.

After some time of seemingly fruitless searching Harry was beginning to lose hope when a shout resounded throughout the vault bouncing off the walls "it's up there!" Hermione shouted as she pointed to a golden chalice cup with rubies inlaid that stood on a high shelf on the far wall.

"How on earth do we get to that?!" Ron moaned.

Harry agreed with him. It did look impossible "one of us will have to climb the shelf" he said simply and strode ahead before anyone could stop him.

He climbed the shelf quickly and was halfway up before it happened. The very thing that looked to have undone the entire plan. His foot accidentally hit a silver goblet which fell onto the ground and began to multiply "oh no!" Hermione shouted "the Gemino Curse!".

Harry groaned. He had heard of it and knew that any object with the curse applied would multiply if touched by anyone other than it's owner.

The cup began to multiply into more and more cups and as it hit other objects the curse spread. The four of them were forced to climb over the objects to escape being crushed as happened to Bogrod who was still under Imperio and ended up being buried alive.

Harry scrambled fast as he neared the cup. His hands fastened around it and he clasped it in his hands.

The four of them climbed over the piles of magical objects to reach the vault door which opened at Griphook's touch.

They soon reached the same dragon they'd found on the way there. More than that they met Gringott's security who began to fire on them aggressively.

"What do we do?!" Ron yelled as they exchanged wand fire with the other wizards.

"I might have a plan but it's...mad!" Hermione shouted above the noise.

She filled them all in and they all thought she was mad except for Griphook "it could work" he said thoughtfully.

Using their rattles they approached the dragon. They were a few feet away when a burst of fire issued from the dragon's mouth.

Harry, Ron and Hermione ducked down but Griphook was not quick enough and screamed and shouted in pain as the flames consumed him.

"Bloody hell!" Ron breathed in horror as they stared at the charred corpse that, only seconds before, had been a Goblin.

"We'd better be extra careful now" said Harry "you two use the rattle while I get Griphook's body".

Soon they were all sat on top of the dragon. Hermione aimed her wand at the chain attached to the dragon's leg, muttered a spell and the chain snapped in two.

"Go!" Hermione shouted. It seemed the dragon didn't need telling twice. Alarmed by the wand fire near it it screeched, breathed fire on the wizards and beat it's wings furiously as it began to fly upwards.

Up and up they went hanging for dear life.

"We're going to go through the ceiling!" Hermione yelled. Harry shut his eyes and prayed to every god to keep them safe as the sound of breaking glass could be heard.

When he opened his eyes he found the dragon was flying away from the bank and breathed a sigh of relief.

They had the Cup and had escaped the bank.

The dragon was just flying over some water when it began to descend "we're going into the sea!" Hermione shrieked "jump!" Harry yelled and the three of them jumped Harry reluctantly leaving Griphook's corpse on the dragon's back.

They plunged into the freezing cold water and sunk for a moment before resurfacing.

After much panicked swimming they crawled onto a sandy beach. Harry looked round in astonishment. He recognised his surroundings and turned to Ron as they both locked eyes on the cottage in the distance "Shell Cottage!" they both shouted at once.

Harry remembered the place from the times that his family and the Weasleys had holidayed there when he and Ron were younger "thank god!" Ron exclaimed in relief as the three of them stumbled towards the cottage.

Ron knocked on the door and the three waited wet through and shivering.

After a few moments the door opened and they fixed eyes on a welcome sight "what the hell happened to you three?" it was Bill, Ron's older brother who was staring at them like they'd grown a second head "it's a long story Bill" Ron said wearily "can we come in?".


	63. Chapter 63

Disclaimer: JK Rowling is the owner of everything Harry Potter related

* * *

Chapter Sixty Three: The Cup, The Quidditch Finale and Exams

Bill took one look at the three of them standing in front of the door dripping wet and much to Harry's relief he nodded his head to Ron's entreaty "come on in, you'll catch your death out there like that" he said sounding worried for them.

They filed one after the other into the house, bill shutting the front door behind them "go on into the living room and dry yourselves off" he called out to them. Harry turned round to see Bill heading off into the kitchen. He didn't hear anything more until a voice exclaimed loudly "Arry!, Ron!, Hermione!". A tall woman with long blonde hair ran from the kitchen and embraced each of them in turn "oh thank god you are all alright!" she said happily "we were told you would be infiltrating Gringott's today".

They all sat down and Bill soon joined them carrying a tray upon which sat five cups on saucers, a tea pot, sugar bowl, milk jug and spoons plus a number of rich tea biscuits.

When the tray was set down the three New Marauders helped themselves gratefully and recounted their mission in absolute detail.

When they had finished telling the couple Fleur's face was thick with tears and she said "poor Griphook and poor you for having to go through that".

"It was bad alright" said Harry. He sighed "but at least we got the Cup" he said as he patted a satchel in which the Cup sat securely "we'd better be getting back to Hogwarts".

"You three aren't going anywhere" said Bill seriously "you're all exhausted".

"You three must stay here tonight" said Fleur "we insist. We are connected to the floo and shall contact Dumbledore to let im know you are safe".

"But..." Ron began.

"Ron be sensible you three need rest" Bill said kindly "you can head back tomorrow".

And so it was that they spent a comfortable night at Shell Cottage drinking in the memories of the old house and slept soundly on soft beds.

In the morning after a hearty breakfast cooked by Bill and Fleur they left the cottage by the floo with the couple imploring them all to visit again under better circumstances.

When they stumbled out of the fireplace Harry looked round and felt relief as he saw the familiar office of Dumbledore "we made it guys" he said happily.

The other two of them grinned at him as they cleaned the soot from their clothes "I take it you succeeded" said a soft and relieved voice.

They turned to find Dumbledore standing by his desk beaming at them. Harry smiled "we have the Cup" he said. His face fell for a moment "but Griphook died".

Dumbledore looked solemn at this news "this is sad news indeed" he said "how did it happen?". Harry, Ron and Hermione sat down and recounted the whole mission just as they had at Shell Cottage.

"A dragon?" Dumbledore said in disbelief "well...Griphook never mentioned that" he said "I am just glad that you managed to escape and completed the mission without any of you getting hurt".

"What now Sir?" said Harry as he took out the Cup and placed it on the Headmasters desk along with Merlin's Wand which had somehow survived Griphook's death. Dumbledore stared at the Cup for several moments before replying "we destroy the Horcrux now and move one step closer to finishing this off".

Harry was glad to get it over with quickly and without being prompted he walked over to Dumbledore's desk, removed the Sword of Gryffindor from the wall behind it and strode over to the Cup which stood on the desk looking completely harmless.

"Everyone stand back!" he said loudly. The four others complied moving back to a safe distance. Harry hefted the large but weightless sword above his head and swung it down in an arc. The sharp metal sliced into the golden Cup cleaving it in two. A large amount of black smoke issued from the Cup as the same cry of anguish could be heard.

Voldemort's soul soon vanished leaving them as the only one's without the office "it is nearly done" remarked Dumbledore as he joined Harry by the desk "there is only one more obstacle left now".

"Nagini" Harry said seriously as he stared at the destroyed Cup.

"How will we get to the snake to kill it though?" Ron voiced the tough question.

"We won't be able to" Hermione said matter of factly. Ron and Harry stared at her and she clarified "what I mean is that Voldemort always keeps the snake with him" she said.

"Hermione is correct I am afraid" said Dumbledore softly "there is only one way in which you will get close enough to the snake to kill it".

"Lure Voldemort here" Harry said.

Dumbledore nodded "it's the one place he has never conquered and besides which you are within these walls and must be eliminated for him to rise to total power. I believe these factors will tempt him into launching an assault".

"And when he does one of us will use the sword to kill Nagini" said Ron simply.

Harry smiled. Ron may be slow on the uptake with a lot of things but strategy and tactics were his area of expertise.

"Well I believe that is enough talk of this subject for now" said Dumbledore "you should all head up to Gryffindor Tower as I believe Mr Black, Miss Weasley, Mr Longbottom, Miss Lovegood and Miss Potter have been very anxious to see you again".

Harry and his friends said goodbye to Dumbledore and left the office to head off to the Tower.

When they had given the password and stepped in through the portrait hole Harry was assailed by two red haired blurs as both Ginny and Molly leapt at him at the same time to hug him "you're back!" Ginny shouted joyously "and you're alright!" Molly added equally joyous.

Harry had to laugh at their joy feeling happy to have such a caring fiancee and sister "alright you two" he said eventually, amusement in his voice "let me breath!".

They let him go. He hugged his sister and kissed Ginny passionately "how was it?" Ginny whispered to him quietly "tell you later" he said with a meaningful look towards his sister who was hugging the others.

"Harry thank god!" Draco exclaimed as he stood up and grabbed his brother in a fierce hug which Harry returned equally fiercely.

They were greeted by Neville and Luna too who were both overjoyed to see their friends back and safe and the whole group of them sat down to speak about happier topics.

* * *

The weeks following the capture and destruction of the Cup Horcrux went by fast. On the 21st of April Harry, Neville and Hermione had all taken their Apparition test.

The man conducting the test was a different man from the one who had taught them in the lessons.

The wizard conducting the test was much older than the other man, was short and round with balding blonde hair and a thick blonde moustache.

He was dressed in full black Ministry robes and carried an unmistakable air of authority about him but despite this he'd smiled at them all warmly as they'd filed into the hall "good afternoon students" he'd said happily "well today is the day I'm sure you've all been waiting for for several months. Today after all of your hard work you will take your Apparition tests and we shall see which among you is capable to do so and receives a license" the man had glanced at his clipboard "we shall start in alphabetical order. When I call your name you will step forward and I shall instruct you on what to do. Clear?".

Everyone had nodded and thereafter the test had taken place. One by one students had stepped up, been given a set location to Apparate to and back from and then either passed or failed based on how well they did.

By the time Harry's turn rolled around he had been glad to see that his best friends Hermione and Neville had both qualified to Apparate.

When he stepped up the man had smiled "ah yes, Mr Potter" he ticked the name off on his list "you are to attempt to Apparate down to the cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and back here to the Great Hall. All clear?".

"All clear Sir" Harry said politely and with a smile that belied his nerves at the idea of getting it wrong "stand over here, think about where you wish to Apparate and start" the man instructed.

Harry closed his eyes, thought very clearly "Hagrids cabin" turned on the spot and seconds later heard: "argh! oh my...Arry!".

The shocked voice of Hagrid broke through into Harry's consciousness and told him that he must have succeeded. Sure enough, when he opened his eyes he'd found himself face to face with his large friend who looked nonplussed at the sudden popping into existence of Harry from nowhere.

Harry had grinned widely "I'm taking my Apparition test" he'd explained "no time to stop Hagrid, got to get back to the Great Hall" he'd turned on the spot and left the bemused half-giant staring after him.

Moments later he'd reemerged. The sound of lots of people clapping and a voice saying "bravo Mr Potter, as impressive as the others". He'd opened his eyes and grinned madly as he'd seen the Great Hall and his friends and fellow students coming over to congratulate him on successfully completing the test.

Harry had been on cloud nine for four days afterwards and not even the extra homework given in preparation for the NEWT exams had brought him back to earth such had been his elation.

* * *

Today was one of the most exciting but tense days of Harry's life as today, the 25th of April was not just the final day of this years Quidditch season but the final match in which Harry would play Quidditch at Hogwarts School and truth be told Harry felt not only nervous about his performance but also sad that this was the last time he would be playing.

As he sat in the Great Hall that morning eating his breakfast he reflected on the long road that had led him to his final Quidditch match from catching the rememberall thrown by the arrogant Theodore Nott to the first victory over Slytherin and beyond to the string of Quidditch Cups.

Despite of the number of terrifying and depressing incidents that had happened over the past seven years he would be forever grateful to Professor McGonagall and the late Oliver Wood for spotting his potential and giving him a spot on the Gryffindor Quidditch team which meant he could actively play the sport he had loved since the age of three.

"There you are!" a voice exclaimed in exasperation. Harry set his toast down on the plate and looked up. It was his brother "the whole team has been trying to find you!" he said in concern as he sat down "we thought we'd be coming down here together, what gives?".

Harry sighed "you know I never thought I'd get on the Quidditch team here at Hogwarts" he said reminiscing "I didn't think I was good enough".

"You, not good enough?!" his brother said dubiously "you must be joking".

Harry smiled and shook his head "I know I'm good when it comes to our siblings and group of friends but I always thought...there must be someone better than me who would be picked instead" Harry laughed "and after all I wasn't picked for the team in the most usual of circumstances...was I?".

His brother chuckled "that's certainly true" as he helped himself to toast Harry spoke again "I just needed some time alone this morning that's all" Harry explained "it was nothing against you or the others I just wanted to be alone with my memories" he shook his head in disbelief "I can't believe this is the last match I'll be in" he said.

His brother slapped his arm "well then brother mine...if this is to be the last hurrah lets make it a bloody good one eh?".

They both laughed and Harry nodded.

In the changing rooms Harry paced along the row of benches upon which his team mates sat. He squashed down the anxiety that filled him as he began to speak "you all know I'm not one for going on about things" he said causing them to laugh as they all remembered the late Oliver Wood their former Captain who had been much in the habit of long winded speeches before matches.

"All I will say is that it's the final match for most of us and rather than worrying about the result I want every one of you to go out and enjoy yourselves. It's the whole point of Quidditch after all. Have a good match and bring it in" he put his hand out which almost at once was covered by six others "one, two, three...GRYFFINDOR!" they shouted. With the team fired up and ready to do their best Harry took up his broom and led the team from the changing room into the tunnel from where could be heard the roar of the crowd and the commentary from Dennis Creevey.

"And here come the Gryffindor's! and what a team they are, unlike those hapless..." Dennis announced in an exuberant manner that caused Professor McGonagall to warn "Creevey!".

"Sorry Professor" Dennis replied sounding not at all sorry making Harry grin widely at the fact that some things never changed despite everything else going on in the world outside.

The match began and was to say the least very even. The skill of the players on both teams was such that the score remained level pegging even as Harry and his opposite number zoomed through the crystal clear blue skies searching for the illusive golden snitch that would win the game for their team.

Several times Harry and his opponent neared the snitch only to get into a fight for the ball and ensure that neither of them got it.

Finally, after two hours of death defying dives, stunning loops and much jostling the snitch appeared to Harry's left as he hung in the air just below the few clouds "come here my beauty" he whispered as he reached out to it cursing as the snitch zoomed off forcing him to chase it again.

He was followed unsurprisingly by his opponent. As the two of them zooming at high speed reached an area near the stands they were forced to halt suddenly as the ball reversed course and began to zoom downwards. The two of them followed it doggedly and reached it at the same time.

As Harry reached it he saw to his relief and also sympathy that his opponent had got too close to the ground and been forced to leap from the broom, drop and roll and smack the ground in anger.

Harry's hand closed round the small golden ball and his eyes closed in relief as a roar of jubilation arose from the Gryffindor stand "Harry Potter has the snitch!" Dennis Creevey roared in delight "he has the snitch, the game is over, Gryffindor wins!".

In a few moments he felt several heavy somethings slam into him. He opened his eyes and found all six of his other team mates hugging him fiercely while an overjoyed Seamus was pumping his fist in the air and yelling "we've done it! we've won the ruddy cup!".

Harry looked round at each face and grinned broadly "we did it brother mine" he said happily to his brother.

Draco looked at him with an equally ferocious grin and replied "we bloody did didn't we!".

Harry and the team zoomed over to the staff box in which Professor Dumbledore stood, a beaming smile spread across his lined face and his blue eyes twinkling as he applauded their performance. He was holding in his hands the rather large Quidditch trophy which symbolised the peak of a person Quidditch career at Hogwarts "it gives me great pleasure as Headmaster of Hogwarts to hand this trophy to the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team who are champions for this school year" the old wizard said as he shook hands with Harry and his team mates. He handed the trophy over to Harry who said to the others "each of you put a hand on it and lift on three".

The others did so as Harry said "one...two...three...lift!" the seven of them lifted the cup in perfect unison as the Gryffindor's roared their approval and pleasure at the sight of the highly polished gold trophy. Even Professor McGonagall who was usually a lot more restrained and severe was applauding madly alongside Harry and Draco's Uncle Peter and Hagrid.

Later that day when Harry fell exhausted onto his feathery soft bed he sighed in contentment. Today had been one of the best days in his life and the celebration party one of the best he had ever attended.

It wasn't the drink or the music or even the long snogging session he'd had with Ginny that had made him so happy as much as it was the fact that he had been able to hang out with his friends and family for many hours and not have to think about Voldemort, the Deatheaters or anyone and anything else for a while.

* * *

The cold but bright days of spring gave way at last to the bright and clear warm days of summer as June rolled around.

The past month had been ludicrously busy for Harry even with the Quidditch season being over as he had his time filled up with Prefect duties, Defence Association meetings, classes, spending time with the girl he loved and, exhaustingly, exam revision.

Hermione and Draco had been obsessed throughout the whole of April and May with not just their own revision but that of their friends as well and Harry couldn't help but feel relieved of the fact that today, the 1st of June was the first of his NEWT exams.

As he sat in the Great Hall eating the porridge he'd selected that morning he consulted his exam timetable. The first exam this week was to be in Potions while Ancient Runes was to be held on Tuesday, Charms would be on Wednesday and then Defence Against the Dark Arts his favourite subject would be held on Thursday. Friday would be free.

Harry felt very nervous as he thought over the exam. He had done much revision on the subject including possible potions the students would be tasked with making but Professor Slughorn had said nothing of what they would have to do despite much badgering by the students.

"I'm so nervous it feels like flobberworms are trying to burst from my stomach" Draco complained as the two of them headed down the corridor to the Potions classroom. Harry couldn't help but feel sad that his and Draco's Uncle Severus wasn't going to be there today as he had been instrumental in the two boys making the grade for NEWT Potions with his patient teaching.

As they took their place in the queue outside the Potions classroom and said hello to Hermione who was already waiting. "I can't wait to get in there!" she said to them enthusiastically "how about you two?".

The pair of them mumbled noncommittal replies.

Just then the door to the classroom opened and they were ushered inside by their jovial Potions teacher who greeted them all warmly as they entered before closing the door behind the last student and making his way over to his desk to take the register and ensure all students were present.

Once he had ticked all the names off he set the clipboard down and said "right then students, I shall give you ten minutes to get out all of your equipment and ingredients before you begin work on this" he tapped the blackboard on which the words "Draught of Peace" were written all in capitals.

Harry groaned inwardly. They had learned all about the Draught of Peace potion earlier in the year and had been told that it was one of, if not THE most tricky potions to brew as in order for it to work properly you not only had to put in the right ingredients but also to put them in in exactly the right order, stir it for the right time and be absolutely careful as putting in too much could cause the person taking it to be placed into a heavy and sometimes irreversible sleep.

"You may now begin" said the Professor as he turned over an hour glass and went to sit behind his desk.

The exam itself was to last for two hours which Harry was very grateful for as the prep work for the potion was time consuming as was the one hour time needed to brew it.

Harry found his nerves starting to lift as he consulted the textbook that had once belonged to his Uncle Severus and which contained not just instructions but helpful hints and tips and different ways to make each potion which made the process easier.

The two hours ticked by with Harry only messing up once and quickly rectifying the issue. Before he knew it Professor Slughorn had stood up and called out "time is up" in a loud clear voice. Each student finished what they were doing and bottled a sample of their potion to be tested on their fellow students.

To Harry's relief his potion must have been well brewed as it calmed Hermione down easily giving her a dreamy look on her face.

When they exited the classroom and headed off to do some more studying Hermione said in her usual nonchalant way "well I think that went very well". Harry gaped at her "how are you always so confident?" he asked in disbelief.

Hermione shrugged "I just know I've prepared a lot and so I don't worry as much when I'm in the exam".

"No" Draco agreed "you do all your worrying during the revision".

Hermione slapped him and the back of the head and both he and Harry burst out laughing soon to be joined by Hermione who saw the funny side of it.

That night a full meeting of the Order of the Phoenix was held which surprised Harry while also greatly alarming him. Full meetings were never held unless there was a very grave threat to reveal to the Order as a whole rather than just the inner circle.

"My fellow Order members" Dumbledore began as he stood up "the news I have to inform you of tonight is very grave indeed" every face was tense as they waited for what he would say next "I regret to say that Lord Voldemort is planning to launch an assault on this castle and the grounds very soon, most certainly within the next two weeks" there were many gasps of shock and horror. Some people were crying while others faces had turned white as sheets at the news.

"I regret that we have no idea of the time or date of the assault nor what numbers we shall have to face as our spy within the Deatheater ranks was discovered this afternoon and murdered by Voldemort himself as he attempted to get further information on this attack".

Harry was frozen with shock and horror. Victor Krum was dead. Harry had got along very well with the former student of Durmstrang and had spoken with him a lot after Krum had become a spy for the Order 'his poor family' he thought sadly just as Dumbledore voiced this thought himself "I'm sure I speak for all of us here tonight when I say that our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr Krum's family and that we shall miss such a kind, caring and intelligent individual" there were many murmurs of assent from the assembled Order members.

Dumbledore finished by saying "our aim is now clear. We must turn this castle and the grounds into a fortress against the forces of evil and must send word to our allies to arrive at this castle from tomorrow as even a whole day is too long to wait".

Late that night it was a very subdued group of New Marauders who sat in the Gryffindor common room long after everyone else had departed "this is it...isn't it" said Ginny softly as she cuddled into Harry. The others were doing the same with their partners as well. Harry sighed "yes" he said "the final battle is coming and we'd better be ready when it does".

The time after that not spent doing revision was spent preparing to face Voldemort and his army of evil. Harry knew there would be trolls, giants, acromantula's, Deatheaters, Dementors and most horrifying of all...Inferi.

At the moment Tuesday the 2nd of June, Harry was in the Room of Requirement practising his spells when someone tugged on his arm. He lowered his wand "I'm busy" he said impatiently only to see Hermione standing behind him "oh..Hermione it's you".

"Our exam starts in ten minutes" she warned him, tapping her watch meaningfully.

"What?" Harry said as he stared at his watch which read 13:50 pm. He swore loudly before saying "sorry Mione, didn't mean to swear".

"Never mind that" she said waving it off "lets go!".

The Ancient Rune exam was very long and very tiring. It might not have been so tiring had it not been held in a stiflingly hot classroom. Due to the heat Harry made several mistakes during the two hour exam and all in all had been very glad to get out of there when it had ended at four pm.

"That was one of the worst exams of my life" Harry grumbled as they met up with Ron, Neville and Draco to head back up to the Tower.

Ron snorted "you should have been in Trelawney's classroom" he said irritably.

They stopped near the portrait of the Fat Lady as Harry, Hermione and Draco stared at their friends "why, what happened?" Hermione asked sounding annoyed at the thought of Trelawney upsetting her fiancee.

Harry knew that Hermione thought Divination to be the woolliest discipline in the Magical World and he tended to agree with her for the most part.

Ron didn't bother speaking still sounding too irritated. He just glowered at a suit of armour nearby while Neville told the other three "It was the Professor. She took a look into his crystal ball and said that tragedy was waiting for him and his family and that a man with red hair would die soon".

Hermione looked furious "why that old bag!" she exclaimed indignantly "how dare she? I'll give her a piece of my mind!" and she was about to head off indeed only for Neville to hold her back and say "don't be stupid Mione she's a teacher".

Throwing up her hands she looked round at the others "you don't think it's true do you Harry?" she appealed to him given his distain for the subject.

Harry paused for a moment and her eyes narrowed "you do don't you!" she shouted "of all the..how can you believe her? she's crackers!".

"She's got two predictions correct so far" Draco pointed out causing Hermione to round on him and snap "oh, so that means that every prediction she makes is real now?".

Draco gulped and looked uncomfortable "no it doesn't" he admitted before adding "but since she has got a few right you can't say she's a fraud either".

Hermione was so incensed on her boyfriends behalf that she didn't speak to the other three for the rest of the day.

Wednesday the 3rd rolled round and the morning was spent by Harry in revision for the Charms exam to be held that afternoon at three pm. Unlike the other two exams this one would only be an hour long and as Harry really enjoyed the subject he felt sure he would do fairly well.

"Your task for today as theoretical as well as practical" Professor Flitwick informed them when they entered the classroom for the exam "the first part of the exam will involve writing answers to many questions to show how much you have learnt in the last seven years before we move onto the practical part which is to quench a small fire in the corner of the room which can only be put out by use of the charm Aqua Eructo". The tiny Professor smiled at them and said "good luck and no talking please".

Harry grinned as he raced through the questions on the sheets of parchment. When he was doing a subject he enjoyed he usually remembered the information he learned during lessons and from reading of textbooks in his own time.

Twenty minutes into the allotted half an hour Harry put down his quill and raised his hand "yes Mr Potter?" the Professor inquired.

"I'm finished writing Professor" the tiny Professor blinked in astonishment and Accio'ed Harry's parchment over to him. Harry flicked his eyes over to Hermione and saw that she was exasperated. Harry knew his best friend was bound to be wondering just how he had finished writing before she herself had.

The second part of the exam went even better for Harry who had always been more one for action than simply writing things down.

He got the wording correct on the incantation at the first time of asking and when his turn came to quench the flames he flicked his wand at the flames calling out confidently "Aqua Eructo". The moment he murmured the incantation water shot from the tip of his wand and erased the flames.

From the beaming smile of the Professor Harry felt that he had done well and was smiling as he exited the classroom with his school bag slung over his shoulder.

That night Harry felt exhausted as he poured over defence textbooks trying to memorise everything he was sure to need to know when his Uncle...Professor Pettigrew started the exam the following afternoon.

The day the nerves that had begun to ebb away at the beginning of the exams period returned in full force as he sat in the Great Hall that morning, a piece of toast in one hand and a textbook in the other.

He had not been too bothered about the other three exams but DADA was his most favourite subject. It was his life and he couldn't bear it were he to fail in the exam.

The way he saw it if he failed his exam then he would not deserve to be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts in any foreseeable future and so he hardened his resolve determined to pass his exam with full marks.

Harry's nerves got worse and worse as the morning wore on until his brother went over to him and said forcefully "Harry you have no need to worry". Harry gave him a dubious look. Draco carried on "I'm speaking the truth" he said "you are the best student in the school when it comes to defensive and offensive magic and have come top of our class in every single DADA exam and test".

Harry snorted "yeah...well...there's a first time for everything".

"Harry you've been preparing like a madman for the exam these past few months" his brother reasoned, patting his shoulder.

"I have full confidence in you. You won't fail, I know it" he assured Harry.

Harry smiled feeling a bit happier "you know what brother mine, you are one of the wisest wizards I've ever known" Draco grinned and hugged him "get on with you" he replied.

As Harry sat in the DADA classroom that afternoon and listened to the instructions being given to Professor Pettigrew he knew his brother had been right...he had this!.

"You will first take on a Boggart and will then duel myself" Peter explained to them "marks will be given on how well you do".

Harry was one of the last to step up easily dispatching the Boggart by confusing him so much that the Boggart ran and hid in the nearby wardrobe.

Now came the tough part. Harry stepped up to face his uncle and bowed thinking as he did so that he would have to be on full guard as his uncle was very well renowned in duelling circles.

Once they had bowed Harry heard a spell being uttered, he dodged and rolled calling out "Rictusempra!" the spell just missed his uncle hitting Ron and causing his best friend to burst out laughing like a hyena. Harry gave him an apologetic look as he returned to the attack. His uncle fired another spell but Harry threw up a shield and the spell bounced off "Locomotor Wibbly!" Harry yelled, his uncle was unable to dodge in time and the spell hit him in the arms causing him to drop his wand "Flippendo!, Incarcerous!" he yelled out one after the other in a double whammy.

The spells hit his uncle and Harry knew he had done it. He had passed.

He muttered the counter-curses and helped his pudgy uncle to his feet "sorry about that Professor Pettigrew" he said.

To his astonishment his uncle burst out laughing "what are you apologising for?" he uncle asked sounding baffled "you did well. Really well".

* * *

By the following Friday it seemed to Harry that they had all been waiting for forever for their NEWT exam results which, on top of everything else, had made himself and most of the other Seventh Years very tense.

It was when he was sitting down to lunch that day that Harry spotted Professor McGonagall marching down the table handing out envelopes to each of the students and knew at once that the results had arrived.

After he'd been handed his he thanked the Professor and tore it open eagerly. His eyes widened happily as he read the sheet of parchment. He had passed in every subject receiving Outstandings in DADA, Charms and Potions while receiving and Exceeds Expectations in Ancient Runes, something which surprised him 'but then again' he thought 'perhaps my mistakes weren't as bad as I thought they were'.

He happily showed his results to his friends and family as they each showed theirs. He was not surprised to learn that Hermione had got Outstanding grades in all of her subjects but was amazed that Ron and Neville had done so well.

They of course put it down to all the work done by Hermione to get them to study, something that caused her to blush when all of them thanked her for her help over the years.

It was just as they were all relaxing when a man with shoulder length curly, black hair, ran into the hall and stood in front of the staff table looking breathless. Professor Dumbledore stood up just as Harry's uncle Sirius shouted "he's here!, Voldemort's here at the head of an army...the battle has begun!".

There was a brief moment of pandemonium in the Great Hall with people rushing this way and that until a loud voice boomed out authoritatively "silence!". Harry marvelled at the power with which Dumbledore managed to cause people to stop in their tracks.

As Harry looked at the old wizard he saw that Dumbledore looked serious yet there was also a fierce determination in his eyes. A look that said "he will not beat us".

"Those of you fifteen and above please take up positions of defence around the school with the Aurors, Order members and our allies. Prefects, please take the younger children to the Room of Requirement" he turned to Daphne Greengrass "Miss Greengrass, I trust as Head Girl you will keep them safe".

Daphne argued "but Professor I can fight!...I want to fight!".

Dumbledore held up a hand "I understand that Miss Greengrass and my request is not a slur on your abilities nor a slander against your courage". Daphne's face coloured up and she looked very embarrassed "it is merely that Mr Potter shall be shall we say...otherwise engaged as shall the rest of the staff which means you would be the most senior person on hand to protect them".

Daphne nodded and seemed to agree with this as she said "I understand Professor. I will keep them safe".

"To your positions then everyone" said Dumbledore "the final battle is upon us".

* * *

Authors Note: The next chapter shall concern the Battle of Hogwarts and may contain parts of the aftermath depending on how the writing goes.

Thanks as always to my great readers and to fhl1234 who has consistently reviewed my chapters.


	64. Chapter 64

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all

* * *

Authors Note: We are nearing the end of the story now as we reach the Final Battle. Hope you enjoy the chapter and a warning that there is some mild swearing and some gore in this chapter.

* * *

Chapter Sixty Four: Final Battle

Harry wasted no time following Dumbledore's speech as he leapt up from the table, drew his fiancee Ginny into the most passionate kiss he had ever given her and said "Ginny if don't survive this...know that I have always loved you and will always love you even after my heart has ceased to beat".

Ginny's voice was choked up as tears streamed down her face and she murmured "oh Harry, my poor Harry. I love you so, so much".

Eventually Harry relinquished the hug leaving her to be held by her brother. He could see Ron nodding to him and nodded back as he followed Sirius from the hall.

"where are they coming from?" he asked his godfather as he ran at Sirius' side.

"The front and sides of the castle" Sirius replied seriously "they've got a couple of thousand out there, maybe a bit more depending on who they've persuaded to join them and how many Inferi they've created".

Harry nodded seriously. Tall odds...but then again that was what he and the Order succeed at...the facing of such odds.

Harry and Sirius headed through the castle and out into the brightly lit grounds. His Dad, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, the Heads of House and a number of others were already there in the courtyard alongside Dumbledore staring at the vast array of enemies facing them.

Harry was comforted to see that a shield was being raised to protect the school and those therein but knew that against the might of the enemy it would not last long.

Just as Harry was about to speak a large boulder zipped through the air towards them before breaking against the magical barrier. He breathed a sigh of relief but got his wand out ready for a fight "are our allies in place?" he asked his dad.

James nodded and said "yes. The Beauxbaton's and Durmstrang students are holding the side of the castle with help from the Hogwarts and other House Elves, Goblins, Hagrid's brother and Peter and Celia" Harry smiled. There weren't many others in the world he'd trust to lead that force as he knew that both of them spoke fluent Bulgarian and French if it was needed.

The shield quivered dangerously. Everyone around Harry pulled out their wands. Harry turned to his mother and sister who had just arrived and whispered "good luck you two".

Five minutes passed and finally with a resounding crash the shield fell. The enemy streamed forward. Harry turned to Seamus and Dean at his left "you two know what to do right? Professor McGonagall has told you?" they both nodded "good luck then guys" he said shaking their hands firmly as he turned to face the enemy who were racing across the bridge two at a time. The stone statues set to guard the bridge were fighting them and had taken down several Deatheaters and a troll but were eventually dispatched over the side of the bridge as the enemy reached the courtyard. The enemy rushed forward with a guttural yell. While the side of the light rushed forward with their own roar of defiance.

Only the other day in a packed Great Hall Professor Dumbledore had adapted a speech by Winston Churchill "if this great story of ours is to end at last" he'd said "let it end only when each of us lies dead upon the ground having fought the ultimate evil" the applause had been deafening that day and Harry could feel the love and unity flowing through their forces now. It really was all or nothing.

* * *

On the right hand side of the school where lies an old, covered wooden bridge, Neville stood guard with a group of other students including Hermione and Ron as Seamus and Dean set the explosives in place. They were using Muggle one's so as to wrong foot the enemy but when the enemy appeared they hadn't counted on the appearance of four fast moving angry forms, the Inferiused forms of the Grangers and Neville's own parents Frank and Alice "god no" he whispered as the forms raced across the bridge ahead of the main force of enemy.

There were only two thoughts in Neville's mind at this precise moment. The first thought was that he needed to destroy these...these things, for the good of the world but the second and contradictory thought said 'you can't do this, they're your parents!'.

As the Inferi reached their side of the bridge and came with wand distance Neville's resolve hardened. He looked up to the sky and whispered "I'm sorry mum and dad...but I have to".

The seconds he had used up to do this left him open and he was set upon by the dark dangerous creatures.

Ron rushed to his side firing spell after spell to hold them off only to leave Hermione and the others open to the other Inferi "it's Moody!" Seamus yelled in shock and horror at the Inferi who looked just as Moody had done, wooden leg and all but unlike Moody the Inferi was unnaturally strong and possessing no desire other than to hurt...to kill.

The group battled with the dark creatures, of which there were many, for a long time before Neville, who had been wounded by a slashing spell from a Deatheater he'd dispatched, finally found an opening and bellowed "Incendio!" the two Inferi in his parents bodies were set alight and thrashed about as the flames consumed them. Neville had tears rolling down his cheeks as they became nothing more than a pile of ash.

"Neville!" Ron bellowed a warning but it was too late. Neville turned round right into a jet of sickly green light and fell backwards...knowing no more".

* * *

"No!" Hermione screamed in anguish as their best friend crumpled to the ground dead, his eyes staring up at nothing.

Her and Ron had just finished dispatching the Inferi of Moody and of her parents. Hermione had not thought she could feel anymore despair than she had but it turned out that she could very much. As the charges to the bridge blew taking the enemy down with them her only thoughts were of despair and sadness at having to destroy her parents bodies, heavy grief at Neville's death and... "oh...poor Molly" she whispered as Ron held her in his strong arms. She wept as she thought of how in love those two had been and how they would never even get engaged much less married.

She could tell that Ron too was devastated but that he was trying to be strong and also he was likely in shock as no tears fell from his eyes.

'How can life be so cruel?' she thought sadly as their group left the scene of the demolished bridge to move further into the grounds to join the others in the central courtyard.

* * *

As Harry fought in the central courtyard he felt sweat running into his eyes misting his glasses, he had several cuts and scratches and a bleeding lip. There were so many enemies. It seemed that for every one he took down another two took their place.

He had just finished taking down a Deatheater with a slashing hex that cut into their heart when he saw Hagrids large half brother Grawp the giant topple over, dead having fallen under the combined might of enemies. He saw Hagrid being forced to withdraw from the fight in grief and his heart went out to his large friend who had never had a proper family.

He turned around at the sound of running feet and saw Dean, Seamus, Hermione and Ron entering the courtyard from a set of steps.

He frowned at the solemn looks on their faces trying to work out just what was out of place. It soon hit him...Neville!. Where was his best friend?.

He ran over to Ron, Hermione, Seamus, Dean and the others just as their fellow students joined the fight. He could see that Dean and Seamus looked sad while Hermione and Ron had clearly been crying.

Without even allowing them to speak he demanded "where's Neville? he should be here". Hermione's eyes brimmed with fresh tears at these words as Ron rubbed her back consolingly.

"What? what is it?" he asked as a horrible knot formed in the pit of his stomach "you took the bridge down...I saw it...so why isn't Neville with you?".

Ron shook his head. It seemed to be taking all his best friends self control not to cry himself as he answered in a choked voice "we managed to set the charges but...before we could blow them several Inferi rushed across the bridge and attacked us along with a couple of Deatheaters".

The knot twisted painfully in Harry's stomach as Ron continued "we managed to dispatch the Inferi but the Deatheater fired...the...the Killing Curse at Neville...I yelled but..." he swallowed "he had no time to get out of the way".

Harry couldn't believe it. Neville was one of his best friends. Not just a best friend, he was like a brother. He was one of the two friends that Harry had grown up with from the age of one and a half.

"No...this is some sort of prank...I...no" he shook his head in denial "no he can't be dead...he was fine...he...I..." Harry couldn't speak any more. His heart felt like it was empty. He couldn't think of anything other than Neville lying there on the ground. Neville who'd been so full of life. Neville who'd been so hopeful of becoming an assistant to Professor Sprout.

Another thought popped into his head as his sisters name entered his head 'poor Molly' he thought despairingly. His sister and Neville had been so much in love. This would destroy her.

Harry's despair turned to fury. Fury at the Deatheaters. Fury at Voldemort. He wanted vengeance.

With a bellow of rage Harry rejoined the fight attacking Deatheaters and dark creatures with reckless abandon. His anger powered him. Made him stronger. There was a downside to it however as it also made him careless and he failed to spot the slashing spell that sliced into his leg forcing him to his knees.

As Harry fell to his knees he glanced over to where Dumbledore was in the middle of the fray duelling several enemies at once.

He saw a new enemy appear. The person drew back their hood. It was Voldemort. Harry watched on as the two of them duelled before he was forced to turn to his own opponent who was now right in front of him "Nott!" Harry growled.

"Potter" Nott replied with cold disdain as though Harry were nothing more than a piece of dirt under his shoe.

"Showing your true colours again" Harry spat.

Nott smirked "you chose the wrong side Potter. When the Dark Lord wins this school will become a temple to the Dark Arts".

Harry couldn't resist the biting remark on the tip of his tongue "I notice you still can't say Voldemort's name" he said and noted that Nott flinched confirming what he had always thought which was that all of those Deatheaters were terrified of Voldemort. Well he wasn't.

"This feud's been going on long enough" he said "lets finish this...now!".

"Fine by me Potter" Nott replied calmly as he aimed his wand at Harry.

The two of them stepped away and began to throw spells at each other as the world around them ceased to exist, so focused were they on each other.

"Crucio!" Nott shouted. Harry ducked and rolled before firing back "Flippendo!" Nott ducked and retaliated "Bombarda!" Harry ducked and the spell smashed into a nearby wall blasting chunks of stone and rock out in all directions.

"Sectumsempra!" Harry bellowed. Nott failed to dodge in time and the spell slashed into Nott's face causing a deep gash in his cheek "argh!" Nott yelled in rage before bellowing "Avada Kedavra!" the spell just missed Harry but Harry saw who it had hit. His Uncle Peter who Harry could see was cradling the body of Celia in his arms "no!" Harry shouted but even as he said it he knew it was too late as the sickly green light hit his uncle who fell backwards, Celia's body still in his arms, he was dead.

"I'll kill you!" Harry roared "Crucio!" the spell hit Nott who began to writhe in agony as Harry stood above him panting. He had just begun to say the two words he thought he would never speak, the incantation for the Killing Curse, when someone appeared at his side.

He stopped the incantation and looked at the person. It was Ginny. He could see she had been crying and he decided now was not the time to kill Nott. Instead he aimed his wand at the Deatheater and said softly "Incarcerous" thick rope shot from his wand and wound themselves round Nott as Harry punched him full in the mouth before saying to Seamus and Dean nearby "guys can you take...him inside the castle and put a guard on him. They nodded and dragged Nott away who they stunned after he continued to struggle.

Harry turned his attention to Ginny "Gin Gin, you've been crying, what's happened?".

Ginny sniffled a bit before answering "it's Percy" she said tearfully "we were fighting on the other side of the courtyard when Bellatrix Lestrange appeared, she..she tried to use the Killing Curse on me but Percy pushed me out the way...he...it hit him".

She broke down in tears sobbing into his shoulder. Harry wrapped his arms round her holding her tightly as he watched the fighting all around him.

Eventually he shouted to the nearby Professor McGonagall who had just dispatched an Inferi "Professor, can you please take Ginny inside, it's Percy, he was killed".

The Professor understood at once what was needed "of course" she replied as she put an arm round Ginny's shoulder and led her away saying "come on my dear, you need a good strong cup of tea and a good cry I think".

Harry looked back at the carnage in the courtyard. There were bodies everywhere. Deatheaters, charred remains of Inferi, Trolls, Acromantula's, Aurors, Order members, students and even Professors Slughorn and Trelawney.

Of course Celia and Peter were there too. As Harry made his way over to them he saw Dumbledore falter. Voldemort took the opening "Avada Kedavra!" Dumbledore crumpled to the ground. Harry froze in disbelief 'it can't be!' his mind said in denial 'there is no way Dumbledore is dead'.

"Harry come on" said a quiet voice. Harry turned to see his Uncle Remus standing next to him "Voldemort's retreating temporarily".

"What?" Harry said dully even as Voldemort's voice resounded through the battlefield "this is not what I wanted" Voldemort said "every drop of wizarding blood spilt grieves me deeply. My forces shall retreat for an hour to give you time to bury your dead and make your decision. Hand over Harry Potter...or suffer for your folly".

Harry had no idea what to say. After so much death and destruction he could not find his voice. He allowed his uncle to lead him from the courtyard and into the castle as the bodies of Peter, Celia, Grawp and other deceased defenders of the castle were brought inside to allow people to mourn before burying them.

As Harry was directed to the Great Hall he couldn't think. His feet moved automatically as he took in the scene of destruction, smashed windows, fallen chandeliers, ruined doors, holes in walls and bodies all over the place.

He saw he saw his parents and Sirius standing with Tonks as they all stared at the bodies of Peter and Celia. Saw Hagrid weeping over the body of his half brother. Saw the Weasleys gathered round mourning the loss of Percy as Hermione hugged a crying Ron. Saw his sister being comforted by Draco and Luna as she lamented her lost love Neville.

Near what had been the staff table lay the body of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, leader of the Order of the Phoenix, Headmaster of Hogwarts and Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. As Harry shrugged off his uncle and reached Dumbledore he could see that the man he though as a grandfather had his eyes closed as if sleeping. There were several cuts and bruises on him that spoke of the intense battle between He and Voldemort.

As Harry stared at the body of the leader of the light there was only one though left in his mind 'how in the hell do we win now?'. Harry may be the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One but he had long acknowledged that Dumbledore had led the light. He had been opposing Voldemort for so long. Now the light was devoid his wisdom, his intelligence and compassion. What would they do now?.

Harry heard footsteps coming up behind him but ignored them. He had no wish to speak to anyone right now. He just wanted to be left alone to mourn his mentor. His friend. His virtual grandfather.

"He thought of you as a grandson you know" said a scratchy but kind voice behind him. Harry turned around and found himself facing a man who looked exactly like Dumbledore. He blinked in confusion as he looked between Dumbledore on the floor and this man standing near him "I'm his brother...Aberforth" the man explained as he moved to stand alongside Harry and stare down at Dumbledore.

"I had no idea you were here" Harry said to the man as he looked at Dumbledore.

Aberforth sighed "lets just say that after me and Albus cleared the air I felt I had to help. I had to do my bit to fight this Voldemort, just as Albus eventually did when he duelled Grindelwald" Aberforth looked at him "did he ever tell you about what happened to our sister?".

Harry nodded "he told me everything a few years ago. He felt bad ever since it happened. It's why he didn't speak to you for a long time, he said he felt ashamed".

Aberforth nodded "for a long time I thought I hated him" he said "maybe I did" he swallowed "but after we talked I realised just how sorry he was for it all. It's why he never took the job of Minister. He didn't trust himself".

Aberforth shook his head "the poor man didn't realise that he'd changed. That he could do so much good as Minister". He looked at Harry "I know what you're thinking right now" he said perceptively "you don't think we have a chance anymore. You think that with my brother being dead it's all over but it's not. We can win...we have to win" he said fiercely "if we fail then all this..." he waved a hand expansively "all this death...all this destruction...it'll be for naught. Do you really want to give any more power to that...that thing out there?" he questioned Harry "what do you think will happen you our friends, families, the Wizarding World...hell the whole world if we just give up!" Harry considered this "you are the Chosen One Mr Potter" he said "you can and you will kill Voldemort and end this!".

As Aberforth spoke each word Harry began to realise that the man was right. He could do this. He HAD to do this. He would face Voldemort and end it. He wouldn't let his friends, his family and acquaintance's deaths be in vain.

He was torn over who to comfort but spent an equal amount of time with his family, the Weasleys, Hermione, Hagrid and his family. He even offered some words of comfort to Professor McGonagall who was putting on a brave front but who, he could tell, was hurting deeply inside. How could she not? the Professor had known and worked alongside Dumbledore for many decades and was by all accounts his closest friend.

Harry made a decision on the spot as he stood up near Dumbledore's body "attention please!" he called out "attention!" everyone turned their attention towards him many of them looking tired or sad.

"Thank you" he said "tonight has been a very bad day so far for us". He sighed heavily before continuing in a stronger voice "but that ends right now" he said firmly "Voldemort's ultimatum..." he saw many people flinch at the name "was to hand me over or more blood would be shed...unlike him I care about you and I'm not going to allow any of you to suffer anymore...so I'm going out to face him one on one and finish this for good".

There was uproar in the hall "no!" Ginny screamed as she shrugged off her mothers grip and raced towards him.

Draco and the rest of the New Marauders did the same as did Molly "you are not going out there alone!" Ginny declared hotly "I won't let you".

"Ginny please..." Harry tried to say only for her to cut him off with a glare "I said no!" she shouted "I'm your fiancee, if you go out there to face your destiny then so do I".

Harry tried to respond only for Draco to speak up too "I'm going out there too and you can't stop me".

"Me too" said Ron uncharacteristically quiet "I want revenge for Neville, my brothers and for all the others".

The rest of the New Marauders and everyone else in the Great Hall loudly declared their intention to go back outside.

Harry gave up trying to convince them and pulled the other New Marauders aside "if we're going to beat him we have to kill that bloody snake" he said.

"Then we need the sword" said Draco. Harry nodded and Draco said "I'll go and get it. It'd give me great pleasure to chop off the head of that thing".

It was soon decided and as people mourned the dead and rested up Draco left to retrieve it. He returned to the hall with just five minutes of the truce left.

Harry got to his feet, patted his brother on the shoulder and exited the hall.

As he walked through the shattered double doors into the castle courtyard Voldemort spoke loudly and jubilantly "the great Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived...come to die!" his followers cackled at the words.

"Lets finish this thing Snake Face!" Harry snarled.

"You are a fool Harry Potter" Voldemort said calmly "and you will lose".

"No he won't!" declared a defiant voice next to Harry. It was Ginny "because he's got me!".

Just as Voldemort advanced on Harry many witches and wizards spilled from the castle entrance and massed around him in the courtyard "so be it!" Voldemort snarled as he and Harry launched into their duel.

As Harry threw spell after spell at the evil wizard he knew that he could not kill him and would have to bide his time until someone cut off Nagini's head. Only then would Voldemort be fully mortal once again.

"Flippendo!" Harry yelled, Voldemort flew backwards and cracked his head hard on the ground but hardly seemed affected as he leapt up to his feet "I am invincible!".

Harry couldn't resist the opening as he fired back "you're a loonie!".

The joke only seemed to enrage Voldemort further as he bellowed "Avada Kedavra!" Harry flattened himself to the ground causing the spell to sail past him and smash into the shattered doors blasting splinters of wood in all directions.

Harry jumped to his face "aw what's the matter Snake Face? don't like jokes?".

"Stop calling me that!" Voldemort shouted in fury as he fired spell after spell at Harry. An Imperio hit Seamus nearby causing him to turn his wand on Harry and Harry was forced to knock him out with a fully body bind apologising as he did so.

* * *

Draco had just taken down an Inferi when he heard a cold voice say "hello...my son" he turned around and found himself face to face with a man whom he had hoped never to see again. It was his blood father Lucius Malfoy.

"So it wasn't just a nightmare after all" Draco said almost calmly "you've got your soul back".

"Yes and now I'm going to get you back Draco. You are my son and shall sit by my side".

"I'll never join with you and that gangster you call a master!" Draco snarled.

Malfoy laughed in amusement and smiled a smile that did not reach his eyes "I am afraid young Draco that I shall not be giving you any choice in the matter. You see it is only a matter of time until the Dark Lord defeats that upstart Harry Potter and when he kills that brat the Dark Lord shall be all powerful. I shall take great pleasure eliminating those dogs who masquerade as your family. I am your father and you shall obey me".

"You're not my father!" Draco shouted feeling a blinding hot rage seeping through him. He wanted nothing more than to destroy this man who had haunted his dreams for so many years "my father is Sirius Black!".

"No!" Malfoy bellowed. They duelled long and hard, back and forth, throwing spell after spell at each other both dark and mundane.

After much fighting Draco got an opening as Malfoy slipped slightly on a slick stone "Expeliarmus!" he shouted as Malfoy fought to right himself. The wand flew out of Malfoy's hand "goodbye...Lucius" Draco said calmly before saying "Flipendo!" the spell lifted Malfoy off the ground sending him sailing several feet away and landing head first onto the stone of the courtyard. Draco heard a sickening crack and knew that Malfoy was dead. It was over.

Draco turned his gaze over to Harry who was fiercely battling Voldemort. To his horror Harry suddenly fell backwards over the body of a dead troll and as Draco watched the evil wizard said something commanding in a language Draco had heard his brother speak several times before, it was Parceltongue.

Not understanding the language he had no idea precisely what had been said but Draco felt sure it couldn't be good.

Sure enough, a long slithering creature appeared by Voldemort and slithered over the troll towards Harry as Voldemort continued to speak.

Draco's heart was in his throat as Voldemort spoke, the snake reared up, bared it's fangs and lunged at Harry. Draco raced towards his brother intent on saving him only to find his intervention was unnecessary as a blur of orange leapt from out of nowhere screaming in rage "get away from him!" and swinging something that looked like...the Sword of Gryffindor!.

As Draco watched on Ginny swung the sword with all her might at the large snake. The sharp sword bit deep into the snake slicing off Nagini's head which fell to the ground with a loud "thump" and rolled over to rest at Voldemort's feet.

"NO!" Voldemort exclaimed in shock and rage as Draco watched him stumble 'that's it' Draco thought 'he's mortal again'.

"Harry he's mortal!" he yelled at his brother who had leapt to his feet and pushed Ginny behind him "I know!" Harry called back before engaging his foe Voldemort once more.

Draco watched as Harry took advantage of Voldemort's shock and vulnerability "Expeliarmus!" Harry shouted and Voldemort's wand sailed out of his hand coming to rest in Harry's outstretched one.

Draco turned away and observed Hermione, Luna and Mrs Weasley take down Bellatrix Lestrange before a new opponent presented himself and Draco was forced to rejoin the fray.

* * *

"Flipendo!" Harry yelled out. Voldemort was blasted backwards through the air cracking his head sharply on the stone floor. Harry watched as the evil wizard tried to haul himself to his feet but was unable to do so.

"You're pathetic!" Harry taunted him as he circled round "you're nothing. You have no concept of love, of laughter, of happiness, all you know if bitterness and envy. Time for some pay back".

"Sectumsempra!" Harry yelled "that's for my Uncle Severus, a great man and ten times what you'll ever be!" another slash "that's for Hagrid's brother!" another one "for Charlie and Percy Weasley!" another "for Kingsley Shacklebolt!" another "for Alastor Moody!" another "for Arabella Figg!" another "for Professors Slughorn and Trelawney!" another "for Neville Longbottom and his parents!".

On and on it went as Harry continued to slash away at Voldemort who was breathing heavily and laboured. Voldemort tried weakly to rise only to collapse to the ground "this is for my Aunt Janice, a bloody good woman!" Harry had tears in his eyes as he continued "this is for my Aunt Celia and Uncle Peter!" another slash "this is for Albus Dumbledore the greatest Headmaster ever!" and another slash "this is for my mother Lily Potter who you murdered!" he thundered "and this is for me!" he bellowed in rage before yelling "Confringo!" everyone in the vicinity ducked down or dived away as the spell hit Voldemort. Harry leapt backwards as a loud "boom!" sounded from the spot in which Voldemort lay.

There was a loud ear piercing scream as the remainder of Voldemort's soul left his body and, having nothing to anchor it to this world, dissipated into the atmosphere never to be seen again.

Harry uncovered his eyes and stared at the spot where Voldemort had been. Now there was merely a pile of ash and tattered, smouldering robes. He lowered his wand to his side and gazed at the wand in his hand. He snapped it in two, threw it to the ground and muttered a small spell to incinerate it.

He exhaled sharply as he wiped sweat out of his eyes and looked round at the battlefield of the courtyard. Deatheaters and dark creatures were being felled everywhere. As Harry watched he saw Patroclus Nott and his wife being slain in a duel by Remus, Tonks and his parents.

Harry couldn't believe it. It was finally over. After seventeen years it was finally done. Voldemort was dead. The prophecy was fulfilled and the world was saved from tyranny. 'But at what cost?' his mind asked automatically as Harry surveyed the ruined grounds and the bodies strewn everywhere.

Harry could scarcely think at that moment.

A red haired blur slammed into him knocking the wind out of him. Ginny threw her arms around his neck and kissed him fiercely, passionately. He returned the kiss with equal fervor as he let all other thoughts slide from his mind leaving only one thought, that he was alive and so was the girl he loved with all his heart and soul.

"I thought for a moment you would die" Ginny said tearfully as they gazed into each others eyes. Harry smiled and ran a hand through hair tenderly before stroking her cheek "and I would have been" he replied "if it weren't for my fierce little doe". Ginny smiled as Harry placed his hand in hers and they walked over to where their families and were standing surveying the battlefield.

"Come here my brave, brave boy!" Lucy exclaimed as they reached them. Harry's mother pulled him into a bone crushing hug as tears fell from her eyes "I thought we'd lost you" she said emotionally "I was so afraid for you!".

Harry smiled and hugged her "I would have been" he said "if not for this wonderful girl". Lucy eventually relinquished her hug and pulled Ginny into an equally bone crushing hug as she said "I know you were right for my boy. He's rarely wrong in his choices and he chose the best girl possible".

Ginny grinned "I feel exactly the same about him...the best boy possible I mean" she clarified. Her and Lucy exchanged a laugh.

Harry was hugged fiercely by Hermione, Luna and Mrs Weasley in turn before he spoke to his dad "it's finally over dad" he said in a choked voice struggling to speak.

His normally composed dad had tears in his eyes as he said "come here you" and pulled him into a tender hug. The two of them stayed like that for many long minutes not saying anything just comforting each other and feeling relief that it was over at last.

A short time later all of the bodies of the light had been gathered together and placed into temporary coffins.

Harry and everyone else were crowded into the Great Hall as Mr Weasley got up on a hastily constructed platform and began to speak "the war is over!" there a loud roar at these words "Voldemort is dead, his supporters likewise are dead or have been captured. There is much work to be done putting the Wizarding World to rights but I feel confident that we can do it" many people clapped "for now it is time for us to mourn our dead and bask in the relief that we yet live".

Mr Weasleys eyes fixed on Harry who had an uncomfortable feeling he knew what was coming "and the man who finally ended Voldemort's reign of terror is standing over there next to my daughter. Everyone's eyes locked on Harry and he groaned. He was in no mood for this right now.

"Harry please join me on stage" said Mr Weasley kindly but firmly. Holding Ginny's hand all the way Harry moved through the crowd which parted for him and he got up onto the stage.

"It was the heroism of this man Harry Potter, his sacrifices and those of his family amongst those of everyone here and many now dead who finally brought us peace. I hereby announce Order of Merlin Second Class for everyone here who fought and Order of Merlin First Class for the New Marauders, James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Lucy Potter, Molly Potter and Nymphadora Tonks as well as posthumous awards for the Longbottoms, Janice Black, the Pettigrew's, Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Percy Weasley, Charlie Weasley and Albus Dumbledore".

The speech ended and Harry rejoined his family feeling that he wanted to just lie down and sleep for a very long time. He felt exhausted both in body and mind and felt very little right now. He had thought that when he killed Voldemort he would feel exaltation, joy, or something similar but he had felt nothing except relief and pity.

"Now what do we do?" Ron asked some time later as the remaining New Marauders sat outside in the bright sunshine.

Harry gazed up at the cloudless sky "now" he said "now we recover, mourn those we've lost and get on with our lives".

"Life will never be the same again" Luna remarked as she snuggled closer to Draco who had said very little since the battle.

"It's certainly a brave new world" Hermione said softly as she cuddled up to Ron who was clearly still in shock over the events of the past year.

* * *

Authors Note: We now move into the Epilogue part of the story to see how everyone is coping following the battle. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	65. Chapter 65

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it all

* * *

Authors Note: This is the first of two epilogue chapters to wrap up the story and see what has become of our favourite characters since the Battle of Hogwarts.

* * *

Epilogue Part One: Life After the Prophecy Part One

As Harry got up on the morning of the 15th of June his stomach felt heavy. It had been three days since the final climactic battle of the Second Wizarding War as magical historians and many others had taken to calling it. And yet for Harry it seemed as though no time had passed at all for although he was making himself eat normally and keeping himself busy helping to repair the castle and grounds he still mourned for every one of his family, friends and acquaintances that had died during the war and especially during the Battle of Hogwarts.

The final tally from the battle was heavy as Harry found that more people had died than he had believed. Aside from those of his family and friends families who had been killed during the fighting three Professors including the quirky and beloved Albus Dumbledore had perished as had Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zabini who had died in each others arms, Colin Creevey the boy who had hero worshipped Harry since before he had even met him, Lavender Brown, Ernie Macmillan and many others.

Today was the day that had been set for the mass funeral of all those who had died during the battle. A cemetery had been built in a large open space in the grounds of Hogwarts and all of the dead would be buried there within separate graves.

Harry sighed as he grabbed a towel and padded over the bathroom to shower. As he allowed the warm refreshing water splash down on him he thought back on the last seventeen years.

'There's no doubt about it' he thought philosophically, his had been not just a tragic life filled with a lot of pain and suffering but a...well there was no other word for it than bizarre...a very bizarre life.

Then again he supposed that life was bound to be bizarre when you were not just a wizard but a wizard that had had a prophecy involving them from before they were even born.

There was no doubt either that so many crazy things had happened to him in the last seventeen years. When he was a year and a half old his mother had been killed by Voldemort who had also tried to kill him only for the curse to fail causing the birth of the legend of the "Boy Who Lived"

When he was a toddler he'd been kidnapped by the evil Deatheaters who had planned to twin his power and kill him with the idea of manipulating Draco into being a disciple of Voldemort a plan which had partly worked resulting in him having a twin bond with his now brother Draco whose thoughts and feeling he could feel over a mental link.

When he had been eight he had almost died and been in a coma for a short time following a terrible fall from his broom.

When he was eleven he and his friends and brother had thwarted a scheme by Professor Quirrell and Voldemort to steal the Philosopher's Stone and use it to get Voldemort a body.

At the age of twelve he had faced down alongside his best friend Ron Weasley, a Basilisk, Gilderoy Lockhart and a shade of Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets saving Ginny the love of his life.

At the age of thirteen he had cast a full stag Patronus driving off a large group of Dementors and had rescued with Hermione Granger the Hippogryff Buckbeak preventing his death and the loss of several people's souls.

At the age of fourteen he'd been entered into a brutal tournament against his will and forced to compete in various tasks as a Triwizard Champion as a result of a plot by a fake Alastor Moody and Voldemort. He had subsequently managed to win the tournament much to his surprise.

Aged fifteen he'd faced down the dark wizard Voldemort his nemesis in a duel in the Little Hangleton graveyard managing to escape to warn everyone of the wizards return.

From years five to seven at Hogwarts he'd been involved in the task of destroying Horcruxes to make Voldemort vulnerable again before the most recent event of his life the final duel with Voldemort.

As he was getting dressed a few minutes later he reflected that he had also had many good times so far in his life with winning the Quidditch Cup not just once but six times, the many pranks he'd pulled with the New Marauders, his relationship with Ginny and the many happy Christmases and Birthday's he'd had down the years.

There was a knock on the dormitory door and Draco came in "Harry, you ready?".

Harry nodded at his brothers words and said "yeah, lets get this over with". The two of them left the dormitory and headed down to the Gryffindor common room from where they would walk with their friends and house mates down to the area where the funeral service would be held.

Truth be told Harry was dreading the service and all those eyes on him. In the days since he had killed Voldemort he had become a legend. Harry Potter no longer just the Boy Who Lived or the Chosen One but...the Vanquisher of Voldemort.

Harry hated it. All the stares. All the whispering. Everyone wanting his autograph. He couldn't see what was so special about him. All he had done was killed a dark wizard. In his mind he was just like everybody else.

Sadly though he knew that a great many people in the Wizarding World didn't see it that way and he was resigned to having to deal with the fame his exploits had brought him for the rest of his life. Besides which, as Ginny and others had pointed out, with his high level of fame, with what he had done, he could use his name to make a great many changes for the better in the Wizarding World.

Harry had thus decided that while he dislike his fame he would use it for good with whoever was elected Minister in order to ensure fairer treatment of non-humans who he felt had got a very raw deal. Indeed, it was his belief that the only reason the Giants and Trolls joined Voldemort was because of the way humans had treated them by restricting their territory and disrespecting them.

A warm hand slipped into his and he looked into the chocolate brown eyes of the girl he loved. Ginny. She was immaculately dressed in a black dress and flat black shoes, with a black hat perched on top of her red hair that was tied back neatly in a bun.

To Harry she looked like the most beautiful girl in the world and he thanked whatever deity was out there that she had entered his life and would share it with him. She had comforted him as he had comforted her the past several days as both tried to deal with the grief of the loss of family members and friends that had marred any joy they might have felt at winning the war.

"Are you alright love?" Ginny asked softly. Harry sighed "I'm bearing up I guess. What about you love?".

"Getting on with it" she replied "I woke up this morning and expected to Percy and Charlie to be there to joke with or play a prank on Ron and when they weren't..." she broke off as tears began to form in her eyes. Harry used his sleeve to wipe her tears away and pulled her into a tender hug "I know what you mean" he said sadly "Uncle Wormtail used to be the one that helped me and my siblings plan our pranks at home, it's so horrible not being able to speak to him or Aunt Celia anymore".

The walk down to the area near the Blake Lake was a silent one with everyone lost in their own thoughts. Many people within Hogwarts had lost loved ones, friends or colleagues and as such no one felt like talking.

When Harry, Ginny and the rest of the Gryffindor's arrived they found many people already sorted and several people acting as stewards getting people seated and ready for the unveiling ceremony.

Harry had been one of those consulted over the soon to be revealed memorial and couldn't wait to see the result. He only hoped it would do justice to those who had died and reflected the level of their sacrifice.

As he and Ginny took seats alongside the other New Marauders Harry saw that his sister Molly was sat with her two best friends and they seemed to be doing their best to comfort her. He was glad she had someone besides her family to talk to. He also saw David his younger brother sat in between Sirius and Tonks and that both of them were doing their best to comfort him. Harry felt so sad for the poor kid. He at least had had a mother while he had been growing up but while Harry could tell that Sirius would never marry again. Still, Tonks and Harry's Mum Lucy were both there to comfort him.

Harry noticed that several people were standing near a podium in front of a very heavy cloth and pull rope, his dad, Mr Weasley the acting Minister for Magic and Professor McGonagall who was temporarily both Head of Gryffindor House and Headmistress of Hogwarts seemed to be waiting to make speeches.

Eventually everyone must have been seated or at least at the site of the ceremony because Mr Weasley cleared his throat and began to speak confidently "good morning my fellow witches, wizards and magical beings in attendance today. Today is a very solemn day where we all reflect on what we have lost and what our future shall be like. The vast majority of us, myself included, are keenly feeling the loss of husbands, wives, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, colleagues and friends. We won a great victory in what is now being called the Second Wizarding War but it was at great cost and it is that cost that shall be honoured today. As we are within the grounds of Hogwarts I shall now yield the floor to Headmistress McGonagall to say a few words and unveil the memorial to the fallen".

Mr Weasley stepped back and applauded as did everyone else when the new Headmistress of Hogwarts stepped up to speak "hello everyone" she said before coughing slightly and clearing her throat "I am not much accustomed to public speaking in front of so many people and so I will merely say that I hope the memorial we have chosen will do justice and it gives me great pleasure to unveil it".

She moved over to the curtain and pulled on the rope. The cloth curtain hiding the memorial drew to the sides to reveal a monument of such beauty that it took Harry's breath away.

It seemed many people agreed about it's beauty as very few said anything for some time instead just staring at it.

Harry took in every detail. It was made entirely of marble, smoothed down to a high standard and was shaped like a tower.

high up on it could be seen carved figures of witches, wizards, centaurs, goblins and other magical beings standing side by side as they had during the Battle of Hogwarts.

Running from halfway down all the way to the base were the names of those who had lost their lives in the conflict written in bright white on a plaque of pure gold.

Harry, barely aware of the action, stood up and began applauding loudly, followed by everyone else in attendance "ruddy brilliant!" Harry heard Hagrid say in usual booming voice.

"Breathtaking" he heard his Uncle Remus comment in wonder.

For Harry the memorial certainly did the fallen great justice and displayed just how well they would be remembered.

"Let this memorial stand for all time as a reminder of the cost of freedom and just how many good people and creatures stood up to the evil that was Voldemort and his Deatheaters".

The roar of applause that met Harry's fathers words was deafening and Harry felt immensely proud of himself especially since he knew how hard his dad was taking Uncle Peter and Aunt Celia's deaths.

When the ceremony was over Harry and Ginny parted ways momentarily to speak to their respective families.

Harry approached his dad with a big smile "that was great speech dad" he said.

His dad chuckled "well I just spoke from the heart" his face fell "I was going to visit Wormtail and Celia's graves today...your mother she...couldn't face it".

Harry nodded sadly "understandable" he said "especially where Aunt Celia's concerned...they were great friends. I'll go with you, I haven't got much else to do today since Ginny's spending the day with her family".

A short time later the two of them were back and the Manor and after eating the food an drinking the tea that Tipper, Molter and Dobby insisted on giving them they went out into the grounds at the back of the house and headed for the mausoleum in which Peter and Celia had been interred together. They mausoleum made of the same white marble with which Janice's tomb was made which stood next to it.

They opened the door and stepped inside. The place was spotless thanks to the efforts of both the House Elves and the Marauder Clan who had insisted on sharing the duties together with the House Elves.

As the two of them stared at the place where Peter and Celia lay side by side James murmured quietly "they were so looking forward to being parents, to seeing their children grow up..." he cut off and shook his head as tears blurred his eyes.

"They were cut off in the prime of life" Harry said sadly "they had their whole lives ahead of them just like Aunt Janice, I know Voldemort's dead and gone but I want to kill him all over again for taking them from us" he said fiercely.

James patted his son on the back "I know Harry, I do too. But he got what was coming to him in the end as did many of his followers".

"Yeah but what about the one's that are left?" Harry said "they won't get off again will they?".

His father smiled slightly at this "don't you worry son. Arthur...that is Mr Weasley and the rest of us won't be letting these people off for being Imperiused. We had people keeping a tally of all those who were Imperiused and those who were doing it willingly".

"What was the total?" Harry asked in sudden curiosity.

"Three people had been Imperiused" James told him "Pius Thicknesse their so called Minister, Stan Shunpike the conductor on the knightbus and Reg Cattermole a Ministry employee".

Harry was amazed and disgusted "those were really the only one's?" he asked wanting confirmation.

"Yep" James confirmed "the rest are just pure evil".

"How soon before they get tried?" Harry asked.

"They're being held in Azkaban under heavy guard until a new Minister has been elected and then the trials will start. Though as I said we have evidence to convict all of them except the said three Imperiused people".

'Good' thought Harry savagely 'I hope they all get the Dementors Kiss for what they've done'.

* * *

The remaining time of the school term ticked away fast and soon it was the 20th of June. That morning Harry awoke with an immense feeling of sadness and also some loss. This dorm room in which he now stood had been his home just as much as Marauder Manor for the last seven years of his life and this was the last day in which he'd be here.

As he looked round at the bed hangings, the trunks yet to be collected by Filch and the House Elves, the small stove on which snacks could be prepared, he thought back on all the happy times he and his dorm mates had had over the years from pillow fights, to telling ghost stories, to trying out magical sweets that made animal sounds or caused steam to gush from their ears.

'Yes' Harry thought 'I'll miss the old place'.

"Caught up in your memories?" a voice asked from nearby. Harry turned round to find his brother standing there.

Harry went to say something only for Draco to say "don't worry about it. I feel the same" he walked further into the room "it's why I came up here actually. Ron, Seamus and Dean are in the common room chatting and laughing about all the good times we had up here".

Harry smiled as he looked round "yeah. We did didn't we".

"Come on. Lets get downstairs and join the conversation" Harry grinned at this and followed his brother out of the dorm room taking one last look before shutting the door on his student life and childhood forever.

Later that morning in the sunlight and warm grounds of Hogwarts, near the Black Lake Harry sat in one of the front rows as the Hogwarts Graduation Ceremony began.

The ceremony took place every year to say goodbye to leaving Seventh Years, wish them luck for the future and give them their school leaving parchment which certified that they had graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and were now full grown adult wizards.

The normally stern but currently smiling Professor McGonagall presided over the ceremony today reading out names, shaking hands and giving people their parchment before allowing them to make their leaving speech.

Harry was not looking forward to his turn due to the sheer number of younger students who were already staring at him with looks of awe.

"Harry Potter" Harry breathed a sigh of relief as his name was called and he hurried up from his seat and onto the stage ignoring the stares of other students as he shook the Professors hand "well done Potter and good luck for the future" she said as she handed him his parchment. In a lower voice she said "come and see me after the ceremonies done. I want to speak to you about who I should employ as temporary DADA teacher for next year". Harry nodded though he couldn't understand why she was telling him.

"Friends, siblings, house mates and fellow students, I'll keep the speech brief as I just want to say what a pleasure it has been being at Hogwarts with you these last seven years and I will miss being a student here with all my heart. A piece of me will always belong at Hogwarts" there was much applauding with many sharing his sentiment.

After the ceremony had been concluded Harry went over his Head of House "you wanted to speak to me Professor?" he said.

She nodded "yes Potter. You see, with me being Headmistress and with the very sad death of your uncle we currently lack a teacher of both Transfiguration and of Defence Against the Dark Arts, now I know you have a wish to take a year off so I wanted your opinion on who would be a good fit for DADA in the meantime".

Harry thought for a moment "well you could always rehire Uncle Remus for a year. He's taken on a lot of new staff since last year and I'm sure he'd love to teach for a while".

The Professor smiled "that's a very good choice Potter. As for the other positions I've already got someone in mind for my old position and for Divination" her face fell "the difficulty is in who to name Potions Master".

Harry nodded in agreement of the difficulty. There were very few skilled enough to teach Potions in the Wizarding World and Hogwarts had lost two such men in the space of two years.

Harry then had an idea though he was not sure how to voice it lest his Head of House think he was being biased. Eventually he decided that he may as well say the name and give her the choice "well Professor as to Potions you could ask...no...maybe not" he said.

"Who Potter?" she asked before correctly guessing "you don't want to say because you'll sound biased. What is your recommendation?".

"My brother Draco" Harry said believing for all the world that she would dismiss such a choice out of hand. He was surprised therefore when the Professor murmured Draco's name as if testing it out "Draco Black, Potions Professor...hmm..." she nodded "ask your brother to come and see me now and I'll discuss it with him. If he wants the job I'll give him the chance to show what he can do" she grinned "after all Mr Potter I am already planning to hire you the September after this one".

"I have a thought on the Divination position as well Professor if you don't already have a candidate" the Professor indicated for him to continue.

"Well you see Professor, there's there one Centaur who lives in the Forbidden Forest called Firenze. He's a friendly guy and given that Centaurs are natural diviners I think he'd be a good choice".

The Professor nodded before replying "as a matter of fact Potter I contacted Firenze yesterday and he agreed to take up the position. I said wouldn't his family mind him taking up with humans but he just smiled and said they were far too set in their ways" Harry laughed at this. He'd liked Firenze the first time he'd met him.

"I have also decided to speak to Miss Lovegood about becoming assistant Divination Professor after next year".

Harry was stunned though happy for his best friend as he knew it was her favourite subject and that she had said many times she'd love to teach it one day "I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear it Professor" he said with a grin before he left her.

When Harry rejoined his friends and brother it must have been obvious that he was happy about something because Hermione asked "why are you grinning like the Cheshire Cat Harry?". Harry chuckled "Professor McGonagall wants to see Draco about something important".

Harry saw his brothers smile change into a frown of confusion "why would she need to see me? we're leaving in half an hour".

Harry shrugged affecting not to know the reason "don't know" he replied casually "you'd better go and see her while she's not busy".

After Draco had walked off Harry burst out laughing "what? what is it?" the others asked impatiently wanting to be let in on the joke.

Harry grinned "lets just say that a certain former student who has always loved and wanted to teach Potions is about to be offered a job".

Everyone gaped at him in surprise and he waggled his eyebrows before laughing again.

A short time later Draco was back with the others and looked completely shell shocked as if unable to believe whatever he'd just been told "I...she...I...Professor...Potions...me..." was all he could get out such was his shock. Harry burst out laughing.

"You knew?" Draco asked indignantly as Harry continued to laugh he nodded "why didn't you say anything?" he demanded. Harry shook his head and wiped his eyes "I wanted it to be a surprise for you" he said.

"Well it was that alright" his brother admitted "a major shock. Me a Hogwarts Professor" he shook his head "I couldn't believe it when she first told me...I thought it was a joke but she assured me she's serious".

"Well of course she is" said Hermione with a smile "you Draco are one of the best in the world at making Potions and you're definitely one of the best in the country".

"That's not the only new appointment either" Harry said before turning to Luna "Luna Professor McGonagall wants to ask you about whether you want to work here after you graduate".

Luna's response was not surprising. She flung her arms round his neck and shouted "thank you!" happily before running over to the Professor. Harry chuckled "never changes does she?" he said fondly.

Later on they learned from Luna that the Professor had asked her if she wanted to become an assistant to Firenze in Divination when she graduated next June. Naturally she had said yes immediately.

It was finally time for the leaving ceremony. Harry, Ron, Draco, Hermione and the other Seventh Year students took their place on the jetty near the rows of little boats.

And as Harry stared at the boats his mind went back to seven years earlier when he'd arrived at the castle as a student. He'd been there before of course on visits but to him nothing could ever compare to how they had arrived using boats across the Black Lake.

The leaving ceremony as it happened, required all of the Seventh Years to get into the little boats and take them back across the lake alongside Hagrid just as they had arrived years earlier. Harry had loved it then and he loved it now as the small boats ploughed through the water, the only sounds being the water lapping up the sides and the chatter of the Seventh Years as they discussed their futures, Quidditch and all manner of other subjects.

The boats soon reached the shore near Hogsmeade Station and everyone scrambled out, up the bank and headed for the station itself.

When it came time to board the train Harry, Draco, Ron and Hermione all gazed up at the tall wide figure of Hagrid their friend and the Hogwarts Game Keeper who was at this point blubbering like a baby.

It was obvious to the four of them that they would be much missed. Harry grinned as he thought of what Hagrid would say when Draco returned for the staff meeting at the start of August. He'd be stunned.

"Ye...ye four take care o' yerselves now" Hagrid said emotionally as he blew his nose in his hanky.

"There there Hagrid" Harry said kindly "it's not goodbye after all...it's just, see you later".

"What?" Hagrid said in confusion and the others exchanged looks "you didn't really think we'd forget about you did you?" Ron asked incredulously.

Judging by the way Hagrid suddenly blushed in embarrassment he had thought this exact thing "well what a daft thing to think Hagrid" said Hermione with a slightly scolding tone.

"Yeah Hagrid you're one of our best friends" said Draco.

"We'll visit you as much as we can" Harry said before adding cryptically "some of us will be able to visit quite often".

Hagrid looked nonplussed by this last comment but seemed much happier as he waved them off on their train journey back to London.

As Harry sat by the window watching the scenery outside pass by in blur, Ginny snuggled up to him, he thought how strange it was going to be not be sat at the Gryffindor table anymore, not to be in class or doing homework. He already missed the Quidditch and vowed that when he became Professor he would take as much time as possible out of his day to watch the Gryffindor's practise.

Harry knew that this summer was going to be busy as aside from his birthday on July the 31st there was also his fiancee Ginny's seventeenth birthday in August, the trial of the various Deatheaters, the election of a new Minister for Magic and the wedding of Ron and Hermione which had been scheduled for the last week in August. Harry knew they had moved the date ahead from September due to them wanting to be married. Their reason was that life was short and they didn't want to waste any of it.

* * *

The first month of the summer had passed by very quickly for Harry this year with much of it being spent with Draco, Ginny and Luna due to Ron and Hermione being with their jobs at the Ministry of Magic which the the Ministry employees had now returned to in London, cleaned and refurbished the place.

Harry had been delighted for Hermione when she had been approached by Ron's dad Mr Weasley for a new Department within the Ministry which would focus on improving the lives of all non-human magical creatures. She had accepted and was currently working on a project to improve the lives of House Elves as she had always dreamed to do.

It was now the 1st of August and Harry was waiting for his family as they prepared to head to the Ministry of Magic. Today was the day of the election for the new Minister of Magic. As Harry waited he thought about the surprising development from the Wizengamot who had unanimously agreed to change the way voting took place for a new Minister.

In the past the Minister had been chosen solely by the fifty or so members of the Wizengamot but Ron's father Mr Weasley as the acting Minister had pushed for every wizard, goblin, centaur and several other magical races to be given the chance to register and vote for the Minister thus making the person who held the office a true representative of the Wizarding World rather than of a few rich and influential families.

As the family arrived in the lobby of the Ministry of Magic the first thing Harry saw was the long lines of witches, wizards and others waiting to vote in several booths that had been erected for the express purpose of the secret ballot vote.

As Harry and and his family took their place in the queue Harry heard a voice "Harry!, Draco!, Hermione!" it was Seamus Finnegan his former house mate.

He was beaming widely as he approached them "Seamus" Harry greeted him warmly with a handshake "Seamus" Draco said just as warmly as Seamus explained "Dean's in there voting now and we saw Ron and his family earlier".

"Seems like everyone's out voting today" Hermione remarked as they looked at the people milling about.

"Not surprising. Now that all adults can votes everyone wants to have their say on who gets elected" replied Seamus before he added "Harry, is it true the Deatheater trials are taking place soon?".

Harry nodded "they are" he confirmed.

"Good" replied Seamus before hearing footsteps and turning away "Parvati!". Harry knew that the two had been dating for a while and so wasn't surprised to see her there with him. He kissed her on the cheek as he greeted her warmly too.

Later on the Marauder Clan waited with the Finnegan's, Patil's, Weasleys and others as the votes were counted and the result was finally forecast after several tense hours.

In the end Mr Weasley won the vote for Minister by a margin of 55% to Augusta Longbottom's 45%. Lady Augusta was just as gracious as loser as Mr Weasley was a winner and both congratulated each other on their well fought campaign and Lady Augusta wished Mr Weasley much luck in his new role as Minister.

There was much celebrating at The Burrow that night with the Marauder Clan and the Lovegoods staying well into the night to congratulate Mr Weasley who seemed very surprised at his own success but also determined to do his best.

* * *

A special arrived in the lives of the Marauder Clan and the Weasleys as today, the 15th of August was the wedding day for Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger who had been living with the Marauder Clan since the deaths of her parents and a girl whom Harry and his siblings considered to be a sister.

Harry got up, showered and got dressed as he pulled a comb through his messy black hair attempting to flatten it down. He finally gave it up as a bad job. He was anxious to make a good impression today as Ron had chosen him as best man over anyone else and when he had questioned Ron on this his best friend replied that he was just as much a brother to Ron as Ron's other brothers had been and that he had in fact been closest to Harry for pretty much their entire lives. This had moved Harry a lot.

Wanting to get everything underway Harry picked up his wand and exited the room heading along the landing to his twin brothers room. When he opened the door quietly he could hear loud snoring from within as both Ron who was staying in Draco's room and Draco himself were fast asleep.

Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance before tiptoeing over to the area near the beds, aiming his wand at first Draco and then Ron and murmuring "Aguamenti". A jet of cold, clear water shot from the tip of his wand hitting Draco and then Ron head on.

The response was immediate as the two men leapt out of bed, snatched up their wands and looked around with wild eyes for the source of their attacker only to scowl in irritation as Harry was doubled over laughing like a hyena.

"Very funny" Draco muttered though Harry could see he was grudgingly acknowledging the prank and how effective it had been.

"You two need to get ready" Harry told them after he'd finished laughing "the ceremony starts in two hours and the guests will start arriving before then" Ron groaned as he padded over to the bathroom. Harry smirked. He knew that Ron had a rather large family including a very boring aunt who smelled of cabbage and who he disliked immensely.

"You can use my shower" Harry said to his brother as he and Draco exited the room, Harry carrying the pile of clothes Draco would wear so they didn't get wet.

After some time Harry, Draco and Ron were ready, all of the guests had arrived and it was finally time for the wedding to begin.

Harry along with Draco and Ron's oldest brother Bill were responsible for getting everyone seated in their correct places and were just finishing up when the Bridal Chorus began. Everyone got their feet while Harry ran up to aisle and took his place alongside Ron.

Harry had never seen Hermione look more beautiful in her flowing white dress with her hair straight today and flowing down her back. Although Harry was in love with Ginny he knew that Ron was a very lucky bloke.

The ceremony proceeded well as Harry's father James gave Hermione away. There was a slightly nervous moment when Harry checked his jacket pocket and thought he had forgotten the rings only to find them zipped up inside pocket.

Soon the ceremony was over and the happy couple exited the tent to cheering and throwing of confetti. A short time later the marquee had been rearranged and the wedding reception took place.

It was a very fun night with there being much dancing, drinking, eating of food and laughing. Harry was amused to note that even Professor McGonagall was letting her hair down looking red in the face and howling with laughter at a joke from Harry's Godfather Sirius.

As Harry danced to a slow number with Ginny late on in the evening she remarked softly in the direction of Ron and Hermione "that'll be us soon my love".

Harry grinned, kissed deeply and replied "I can't wait my darling, I really can't".

* * *

Well everyone we are nearly at the end of this story. One more chapter in the Epilogue to wrap things up and the story is done.


	66. Chapter 66

Disclaimer: It all belongs to JK Rowling

* * *

Authors Note: Well here we are folks. After ten months of writing we are now at the final chapter of this story. Hope you enjoy the last chapter and thanks for the support.

* * *

Epilogue Part Two: Life After The Prophecy Part Two

Time had gone on. It was now the 1st of August 1999 over a year after the death of Voldemort and the end of his violent cruelty.

Today was a special day for the Marauder Clan and the Lovegood's as Draco Black and Luna Lovegood who had been engaged for several years were finally able to marry following Luna's graduation from Hogwarts that June.

Draco had already been working at Hogwarts for a whole school year as Potions Professor in place of the deceased Professor Slughorn and as luck would have it Luna had been offered a position at Hogwarts in place of the centaur Firenze as Professor of Divination which meant that the two of them would live together at Hogwarts during the school year in married quarters and splitting their time between Marauder Manor and Firefly Cottage through the two months of summer and over Christmas.

Harry had gotten up early that morning and was currently bustling about with his father and godfather getting the wedding tent prepared for the marriage ceremony and the wedding reception that was to take place that afternoon.

"No put the chairs that side!" he burst out in frustration after seeing Ron put them in the wrong place yet again.

"No need to get tetchy" Ron grumbled as he began to straighten them out.

"Sorry mate" Harry apologised running his fingers through his hair "this wedding is stressing me out especially since it's my brother getting married".

Ron waved it off "remember how chaotic it was getting ready for my wedding?" they shared a grin at the memory of Ron and Hermione's wedding last year.

"When did you say Hermione's due?" Harry asked his best friend as they worked.

Ron smiled fondly "she's four months gone So another five months".

Harry clapped him on the back "well I can't wait to meet my nephew or niece". Any other friend might have corrected Harry on saying this but the two of them were as close as brothers and considered themselves as such even though they did not share any blood.

After much working Harry, Ron, Harry's dad James, Sirius, Remus and Harry's mother with help from certain others such as Mr and Mrs Weasley and Mr Lovegood had managed to get everything from the food to the seating assembled and ready for the happy couples wedding to begin.

The wizard registrar Mr Peabody was already standing in place at the back of the tent as the guests filed in and were escorted to seats by Harry and all those who were helping him as ushers.

It was a big job as all of their friends, family and many others such as work colleagues were attending. Even Professor McGonagall their former Head of House and Headmistress at Hogwarts was attending the service seated in a prominent position just behind those considered to be family.

She greeted Harry warmly as she entered the tent "Harry" she said as they hugged in a rare moment of affection from the severe witch "Professor" Harry returned the greeting with equal warmth.

"I thought I asked you to call me Minerva" she chided half seriously with a smile.

Harry chuckled at this "as I've said Professor, I just can't seem to get out of the habit of it" he shrugged "I suppose it must be the seventeen years of my life I spent getting used to calling you Professor".

"I suppose it must" she agreed before adding "however I shall expect you start calling me Minerva when we become colleagues at Hogwarts".

Harry's smile widened at the mention of his impending job role at one of his favourite places in the Wizarding World "I'll work on it...I promise" Harry promised her.

Just then Draco entered the tent looking very nervous and flustered "I don't know if I can go through with this Harry" he muttered as they walked up the central aisle towards the registrar.

"Oh come now brother mine, of course you can. You love her don't you?" Harry replied teasingly with a grin.

His brother turned and gave him a scathing look "you know I do" he replied tersely "I've loved her for years".

Harry threw his hands up "then what's the problem?". Draco sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, something he did often when tense "don't you think we're...you know...a bit young".

Harry burst out laughing causing his brother to glare at him in irritation "sorry brother" he apologised to Draco as he wiped tears from his eyes "I'm sorry but really, come on now. Ron and Hermione were only eighteen and seventeen respectively when they got married and look how happy they both are living at The Burrow and working at the Ministry".

"Yeah but..." Draco sighed "what if Luna doesn't really want this?" he questioned "what if...what if she isn't ready for marriage and I've pushed her into it".

Again Harry laughed loudly in disbelief "Draco we've been friends with Luna since we were how old?. I **know **her. **You know HER**". He put a hand on his brothers shoulder and looked into Draco's eyes "Luna is not one to do something she does not wish to do and I know for a fact that it is her deepest wish to marry you and be with you forever".

His brother finally looked convinced "alright...alright" he said eventually "you've convinced me" he then chuckled "you know brother mine you should really go in for a career in giving advice...you're good...just as good as Hermione".

The two of them grinned "a major compliment" Harry replied.

As Harry and Draco took their places the wedding march started. Harry turned to face the opening to the tent and his jaw dropped as Luna entered in a dress that was very much her own design that was all in blue and was embroidered with flowers. Ginny, Molly and Hermione followed on behind her holding up the train that flowed behind.

Harry tapped Draco on the shoulder. His brother turned to look and Harry could see his eyes almost dropping out of his head. Harry didn't blame him. Luna looked absolutely breathtaking in her wedding dress seeming more beautiful than ever.

The wedding service went on much the same as it had for Ron and Hermione's wedding with the exception that Harry didn't have the panic over potentially losing the ring this time round.

The registrar at last pronounced Draco and Luna husband and wife as everyone cheered and the newly married couple kissed deeply and passionately before advancing down the aisle to the guests throwing flower petals and other confetti over them. As Harry advanced on behind with Molly, Ginny and Hermione he saw the beaming smile on Mr Lovegood's face and the warm but emotional smile on Sirius' face. He knew what both men must be thinking, they were obviously overjoyed for their children and the happiness they had found while no doubt wishing that Draco's mum and Luna's mum could be there to witness and be a part of the happy event.

At the reception afterwards Harry danced with many people and drank much alcohol.

The next morning he woke up with the worst hangover he had ever had. He sat up in bed and held his head groaning as he held his head in his hands.

Not even bothering to get changed out of the suit he had been wearing the previous day he headed slowly out onto the landing and into the lift feeling grateful for it being there as he felt too hungover to go down the stairs.

As he entered the kitchen shaking his head to dispel the cobwebs fogging up his brain he noticed through bleary eyes that his dad and godfather were both sat at the table looking equally the worse for wear as Remus cast them amused looks.

Harry mumbled tiredly "morning" receiving tired responses of "morning" in reply from his dad and godfather and a bright "morning Harry" from Remus who slid a plate containing a full English breakfast across the table together with a steaming hot cup of tea.

Harry looked at the food and nearly gagged. Forcing down the sick nauseous feeling he muttered "thanks Moony" before tucking into his food. No one said anything as they ate their breakfasts and Harry felt like a new man after the comforting food and the welcoming tea.

"So Harry" Remus said with a grin "forgotten something this morning?". Harry frowned at him in confusion as he shook his head "no" he replied trying to think "no I don't think..." suddenly it came to him. The conversation he had had with Ginny the previous night.

"What's the time?" he asked feeling a rising panic.

Remus checked his watch "10:35 am. Why?" he responded with a bigger grin.

"Oh god!" Harry moaned as he banged his head on the table "oh god. Oh god!". He raised his head and muttered miserably "I was supposed to meet Ginny this morning to finish planning the wedding" he said "we were supposed to meet at nine o' clock. She'll kill me!". He leapt up from the table and dashed out of the kitchen.

He dashed up to his bedroom to have a shower, grab his watch and wand and get changed before running back downstairs and flooing over to The Burrow.

When Harry stepped out of the fireplace in The Burrow's kitchen he gazed round cautiously and used his wand to clean off the soot covering his clothes.

"Harry James Potter!" a voice shrieked furiously. Harry shut his eyes as he grimaced. He had roused the famous of Weasley temper and he knew he'd have to tread carefully to prevent a massive argument.

He opened his eyes to gaze at his furious fiancee "ah Ginny...so good to see you...I..." she cut him off with a raised palm "save it Harry I'm doing the talking!".

Harry grimaced again and nodded "I get that you drank a lot last night sweetheart I really do but you knew what time we were meeting today" she glared at him "we had this day pencilled in for over a year!".

"I'm sorry I..." again she raised a palm. He sighed and fell silent "you do want this marriage...right?" she questioned sounding upset.

Harry took both her hands in his "of course I do love. You know how I feel about you, how I've felt about you for a long time" he gazed deep into her brown eyes "please tell me I haven't screwed everything up".

Ginny was now smiling as she moved in to kiss him "I knew you loved me really I just needed to hear it again. The registrar is in the other room ready to meet us".

Harry smiled at her. He loved her so much "lets do it then" he replied as he took her hand and they walked from the kitchen into the living room.

As they entered the living room the tall elderly looking wizard stood up and smiled as he shook Harry's hand "a great pleasure to meet you Mr Potter" he said kindly.

"Likewise" Harry replied as he sat down next to Ginny. The man rummaged through an old looking folder then cleared his throat before speaking "now your fiancee Miss Weasley has filled me in on what you want from the service in general but she asked me to wait before we spoke on specifics".

Harry nodded and the man continued "now let us discuss the music".

Harry smiled "well me and Ginny were thinking about music from one of our favourite bands Queen". Ginny took over "yes. We thought, this song..." she handed over a sheet of parchment with some writing circled "for me to enter the tent to and this one..." she tapped another ringed song "for us to exit to after the ceremony".

The man glanced at the two songs stroking his chin thoughtfully "a very good choice" he replied, smiling at their bemused expressions "just because I am old doesn't mean I don't listen to good music".

They all shared a laugh "well now that is decided I believe we should talk about your vows to each other".

Both of them had prepared unique vows in advance and showed the sheets of parchment to the registrar who nodded approvingly "very good" he said before adding "I think the final thing to discuss is who is giving you away" he said to Ginny and then to Harry said "and who is to be your best man".

Ginny answered promptly and with no hesitation "my father Mr Weasley will give me away" she told the registrar who then looked to Harry for his answer.

Harry sighed "it's really difficult you see" he said "there's my best friend Ron who's like a brother to me and then there's my actual brother Draco to choose between. I was best man at both their weddings so it's not an easy choice for me".

The registrar nodded understandingly "I quite understand" replied sympathetically "but I'm afraid that with the wedding just two weeks away and myself being so busy with weddings before then you must make a choice now".

Harry nodded knowing the man was right and looked down at the sheet of parchment on which he had the two names of Ron and Draco with a question mark next to each.

After a while of brooding silence Ginny cut in "pick Draco, he's your brother. I'll speak to Ron and explain".

Harry shook his head "I'll pick Draco but I'll explain why to Ron, it's only fair on him".

He looked up from the parchment at the registrar "my brother Draco will be my best man at my wedding" the man nodded noting down Harry's choice before saying "the only thing left to discuss now is who will be your bridesmaids including the maid of honour".

"My maids of honour will be the three I have written on this list" Ginny replied as she handed over the final piece of parchment.

Harry knew already that since Ginny had no blood sisters she had picked Luna to be her maid of honour as she was her best friend while Hermione and Molly would be the two bridesmaids behind her.

The three of them talked for some time more before all details were finalised.

Eventually the registrar left The Burrow with warm goodbyes to Harry and Ginny. Harry turned to Ginny as they watched the man leave by floo "now time for the hard part" he said sucking in a nervous breath".

Ginny patted him arm reassuringly "I'm sure it'll be fine Harry" she said soothingly "he's your best friend he'll understand".

Harry looked at her and nodded though he would only truly believe so when he spoke to Ron himself.

Harry spent the rest of the day at The Burrow making conversation with Ginny and Mrs Weasley. Harry was delighted to learn that Ginny was being given a spot as Seeker on the Holyhead Harpies first team playing under the Captaincy of Gwenog Jones.

That evening as Harry and Ginny were helping Mrs Weasley set the table for dinner - Harry having told his family earlier he would be stopping over - the fireplace in the Weasley family kitchen flared up and out stepped a soot blackened young man with red hair and wearing a smart black suit stepped out of the fireplace "boy am I glad to be home" Ron said sounding grumpy as he dusted himself off.

Harry looked at Ginny and gulped. Dealing with Ron in this mood would not be easy but the look Ginny was giving him said 'get it done' he nodded at her unspoken instruction as Ron crossed the kitchen and kissed his mother on the cheek "hi mum, good day?".

Harry had noticed that since Ron had married Hermione he had been far more aware of the people around him.

"Oh not bad dear thank you" Mrs Weasley replied with a smile before gesturing to Harry "Harry over there wants to speak to you".

Harry stood by the table as Ron turned and jumped in surprise "Harry!. I didn't know you were coming over today".

"We had to speak to the registrar. Last minute details about the wedding" Ginny informed her brother and without missing a beat then said "why don't you two go outside for a bit until dinners ready?".

Ron looked from his sister to Harry and, obviously sensing something important, nodded "alright" he and Harry exited through the kitchen door into the yard.

"This is about the wedding isn't it" Ron said as soon as they were outside. Harry gaped at him in surprise and his best friend smiled "don't be so surprised mate. Being married to Hermione some of her qualities were bound to rub off on me".

Ron grinned "you don't need to worry about the stag do. I've got everything organised. We're going to watch the Wimbourne Wasps before a pub crawl of all wizarding pubs followed by a meal made by the Hogwarts House Elves".

Harry knew it was now or never so he said "look...Ron...the thing is..." he sighed "I...Draco's my brother you know and...well...I...I've decided to name him best man" he said nervously and hesitantly.

The smile fell from Ron's face for a moment. Harry then had an inspiration 'why can't I have two best men?' it was the perfect idea because, after all, nothing said you could only have one best man.

"I...it's fine...I get it" Ron said turning to walk back into the house just as Harry blurted out "Ron wait!...I've had an idea!".

His best friend turned back round looking unsure "whatever it is forget it" he said stubbornly "you're only doing it out of pity".

"I'm not I promise" Harry swore truthfully "I was thinking you know that it's impossible to choose between you and Draco. He's been my brother practically since I can remember...but so have you" he said seriously.

He walked over to Ron "we've been through so much together Ron...so much. It just wouldn't feel right for one of the men I consider a brother to be left out of things...so I'm going to name two best men...I'll inform the registrar tomorrow of the change".

Ron looked about to protest before his eyes filled unexpectedly with tears and he grabbed Harry pulling him into a fierce hug "you're the same to me too" he said eventually after he let Harry go "a brother I mean".

Harry grinned "I know mate...lets get back inside...don't want to miss dinner" Ron looked horror-struck at the mere thought of missing dinner and nodded. The two men walked side by side back into the kitchen both smiling.

As they sat down at the table and both greeted Hermione who had just arrived home Ginny flashed him a quizzical look to which he just replied "tell you later honey".

* * *

Harry found himself staring into his bathroom mirror at Marauder Manor. It was the day of his wedding to Ginny and the most nervous day of his entire life thus far. He was anxious to make a good impression on the soon to be Mrs Potter lest she suddenly decide to call it off. As he attempted to flatten his hair he knew deep down that his fears were groundless thanks to the talk he'd had with his brother Draco, a conversation with Ron and the many assurances of Ginny herself but even so that nagging doubt remained that something would go wrong.

As he got ready for the ceremony that was to happen in an hours time his thoughts turned to the stag night he'd sensibly decided would be held a week ago on the 7th of August.

It had been a wild night of Quidditch, drinking, eating and drunken games of twister, monopoly and football in the best stag party Harry had ever attended and which had been organised by Ron.

Ron's co-best man Draco didn't seem to be bothered that all of the details for the stag do had been decided by Ron instead. In fact Draco had welcomed it due to his busy schedule preparing for the new term at Hogwarts liaising with the registrar about the big day.

A knock nearby on Harry's bedroom door pulled him out of his thoughts, he shouted "come in!" as he gave up on flattening down his hair and exited the bathroom smoothing down blue striped suit he had purchased for the wedding. He grinned as he recalled the support Ginny had given him on wearing it when everyone else thought a pinstripe suit to be horribly dated.

"Harry, are you ready?" it his brother Draco looking immaculately dressed as always in a smart black tuxedo with a purple shirt and tie underneath.

"Is he ready?" Ron shouted from outside. Both brothers rolled their eyes and Draco replied "I was just going to ask him Ronnie boy".

"Oi, don't call me Ronnie boy!" Ron shouted from outside causing both brothers to laugh.

"So...are you ready?" Draco asked him seriously. Harry didn't even need to think about it. Of course he was nervous...he dare said that many men had the same nerves on their wedding day but he knew he was doing the right thing and that he would have no regrets in marrying Ginny "I'm ready" he replied with a smile. The two brothers exited the room and walked over to the lift with Ron.

Inside the tent with the guests seated and the registrar waiting Ron asked "no last minute plan to dash off to Brazil?".

Harry smiled and rolled his eyes. He could always count on his best friend to make him laugh in any situation "not yet" he replied with a grin just as the first bars of "We Will Rock You" by Queen started up.

"Harry, look" his brother said breathlessly. Harry turned to look and his jaw dropped as Ginny walked up the centre aisle of the rows of seats. She looked more beautiful than Harry had ever seen her. In fact in her white dress with white veil and her long flowing red hair she looked like an angel to him. The most perfect woman in the world.

In no time at all she reached him and they joined hands as Harry gazed deep into her brown eyes and murmured "you are so beautiful Gin Gin". She giggled "you don't look so bad yourself Har Har".

They turned to face the registrar who, with a beaming face began to speak "dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man Harry James Potter and this woman Ginevra Molly Weasley together in matrimony. Who give this woman to this man?".

"I Mr Arthur Weasley, do so" said Mr Weasley in a strong confident voice as he smiled at Harry before stepping back.

"Harry and Ginevra will now say the vows they have prepared themselves".

Looking into Ginny's eyes Harry knew that he didn't even need the parchment to tell him what he wanted to say to Ginny "Ginny, you are my love, my life, a part of me, you support me when I'm down, you celebrate with me when I'm happy, you have been a best friend as well as the love of my life" Harry could see her eyes had tears in them "and that is why I Harry James Potter do promise to love and cherish you, to take your advice when given and to love you always for you have my heart".

When Harry was done Ginny gave his hand a squeeze before launching into her vows "Harry you have been there ever since I can remember, planning pranks with me, playing games and going on the most wonderful adventures. You always included me and that is why I love you. You've been there through my highs and my lows, including in the Chamber of Secrets when I thought all was lost. You are the kindest man I know and the bravest, I love you Harry Potter and I promise to love and cherish you, to be there for you at all times and to make you the happiest man there is".

It was now Harry's turn to feel teary eyed and when Ginny stopped speaking Harry flashed her a smile and squeezed her hand as they turned to face the registrar who declared "Harry and Ginny have declared their love for each other and their intent to be husband and wife in the sight of the law. Who has the rings?".

Draco stepped forward with one and Ron forward with the other, they extended their palms and held them out for the registrar to take "now Harry say after me" the registrar instructed "with this ring I thee wed" Harry repeated the phrase "with my body I thee worship" again Harry repeated it "do you promise to love, honour and cherish her forsaking all others until death do you part?".

"I do" Harry declared confidently.

Harry slipped the ring on Ginny's finger and grinned as Ginny said her piece and placed the other ring on Harry's finger "Harry and Ginny have declared their love and intent in the sight of their friends and family by the saying of vows and the giving of rings. If there is anyone who knows any just cause as to why they should not be married speak now or forever hold your peace".

No one said a word and so the registrar declared happily "I now pronounce you husband and wife" Harry gave a look as if to say may I kiss her now. The registrar nodded in response to the silent question and Harry pulled Ginny into a tender passionate kiss which caused the applause inside the tent to grow even louder as people clapped and cheered.

When they pulled back both were flushed but grinning happily

The two of them thanked the registrar and walked down the aisle hand in hand smiling widely at their friends, family and colleagues.

Soon afterwards the tent had been rearranged and the wedding reception began as Lee Jordan acting as DJ announced happily "and now the happy couple will have their first dance" Harry took his wife's hand as he led her onto the dance floor near the DJ area. The sound of Love is the Sweetest Thing sung by Al Bowlly could be heard throughout the tent as the pair began to sway in time to the music locked in each others embrace.

To Harry it was one of the most wonderful feelings in the world as he danced away to the music feeling as he had done all those years ago at the Yule Bull that he and Ginny were the only two people in the whole world at that moment.

As the song ended and a new song began which was Somebody to Love by Queen, other couples took to the dance floor and began to dance too Harry even saw Professor McGonagall dancing with Sirius who, not being a natural dancer, seemed to be trying hard not to step on her toes.

"Well **Mrs Potter**" Harry said, emphasising her new last name "is this day just like you imagined?".

Ginny put her arms round his neck "no" she replied casually. His face fell "it's even better than I imagined. I love you so much **Mr Potter**". Harry leaned in and kissed her deeply. For many minutes they were standing like that locked in their warm embrace, neither one wanting to let go.

In the early hours of the morning as Harry lay in bed in the Dawlish Warren holiday home he had purchased jointly for he and Ginny he looked over at his wife who was fast asleep, her head laying on his bare chest he thought yet again as he had done many times before of how he was the luckiest man on the planet to have the love of such an amazing woman.

* * *

For Harry the 1st of September arrived all too soon. Harry and Ginny had parted ways for that day as she headed off for Quidditch practise with her teammates and he headed off to London with Sirius, his parents James and Lucy, Molly who was now entering her Sixth Year at Hogwarts and David their younger brother who was entering his Second Year inside the hallowed halls.

It was a very strange experience for Harry as he pushed his trolley containing trunk and cage in which Hedwig resided along the are between platforms nine and ten that led to the barrier and platform nine and 3/4's beyond it. For one thing he was shown much respect especially by adults, no doubt because being eighteen he was a full grown adult himself, for another he had been a student every other time he had passed through the barrier whereas this time he would be passing through as not just an adult but a Professor.

He knew that new Professors didn't usually ride the Hogwarts Express but today was different as his brother Draco and Draco's wife Luna who were both Professors would be riding the train to Hogwarts.

Sure enough as the group of Marauders passed through the barrier and stood on platform 9 and 3/4's Harry grinned at the sight of both Draco and Luna performing crowd control and making sure that students got onto the train alright.

"Harry!" Luna exclaimed as she walked over to him looking her usual cheery self "we thought you'd miss the train!, what happened?".

Harry gestured to Molly and David "these two kept forgetting things so dad had to keep turning back". Luna laughed "we were any different when were there age" she pointed out with a smile. Harry chuckled "no we certainly weren't" he said.

Eventually Draco came over and he and Luna chatted to Harry as the three of them loaded the trunks of students onto the train "so what's it like teaching?" Harry asked them eagerly.

"knackering" was the first thing Draco said. Harry's face fell as he had expected to hear words like "exhilarating and "wouldn't do anything else".

Luna slapped the back of her husband's head "ow!" he exclaimed as she said to Harry "ignore him. He doesn't mean it really. I mean it can be exhausting sometimes but it's amazing standing there at the front of the class, all of them hanging on your every word".

Harry and the other two said goodbye to James, Lucy and Sirius as they boarded the train and headed for the teachers carriage where they would spend most of the journey.

As the train puffed into Hogsmeade Station Harry glanced out of the window at the darkened sky illuminated only by lamps dotted along the station platform.

He, Luna and Draco exited the carriage and helped several students to find their way including several scared looking First Years who were huddled together. It must have been because he was so much taller and older now but to Harry they seemed very small indeed.

They walked the First Years in the direction of a very familiar and welcome sound, Hagrids booming voice as the half-giant called out "Firs Years!, Firs Years over to me!".

Hagrid had just finished gathering some students into groups and was turning back round when he spotted the three New Marauders.

"Harry!, Draco!, Luna!" he grinned "or should I say, Professor Potter, Professor Black and Professor Lovegood?".

The three of them laughed in response as did Hagrid "excited Harry?" Hagrid asked as they gathered up more First Years.

Harry nodded and replied "I'm looking forward to it...hopefully I do well".

Hagrid beamed "you'll love it Harry" he assured him "aint no better feelin that a group of students paying attention to your every word, teachin's ruddy marvellous".

If heading to Hogwarts that day had been an odd experience for Harry it was nothing to the feeling he had now as he, Draco and Luna took their seats at the staff table. To his surprise Professor McGonagall smiled at him and waved from her seat at the centre of the table.

Harry noticed that Professor Flitwick wasn't at the staff table unlike everyone else. He wasn't surprised as he had been told by Draco that the diminutive Professor was now Deputy Headmaster and so was likely preparing to lead in the First Years.

Harry watched as Argus Filch placed the stool and sorting hat near the staff table and gave he, Draco and Luna very sour looks "he looked at us like that last year too" Draco remarked "he's still grumpy about everything we did while we were here" Luna said.

Harry made a note to seek out the perpetually miserable caretaker and have a talk with him. He would never be friends with Argus Filch but given that they would be in the same castle for the next ten months it wouldn't do for their previous history to get in the way of things.

The Welcoming Feast was very strange for Harry and also a bit nerve wracking as Professor McGonagall introduced him as the newest employee for the DADA post at Hogwarts. The storm of applause and cheering was through the room. There were of course many younger students who had been taught spells and had their skills honed by Harry and the other New Marauders in the Hogwarts Defence Association meetings which Harry had been pleased to learn were still happening under the tutelage of Draco and Luna. He resolved to be involved in them himself as well.

The next day was a very exciting day for Harry but also very nervous too as it would be his first day teaching. He'd done a lot of prep work over the summer ready to meet the challenge and could only hope he would do well.

He was just finishing up his lesson prep when he could hear voices outside the door. Today he would be teaching the Seventh Years and couldn't help feeling that he was being thrown into the deep end so to speak.

He stood up from his desk, crossed to the door and opened it "welcome students" he said warmly "come on in and get seated. I've prepared what will hopefully be an interesting lesson".

Once everyone had filed in and were seated he took the register before finally saying "right then class, as you probably know my name is Mr Potter, lets begin".

That night Harry lay in bed with Ginny's head resting on his shoulder. Harry had already asked her how her first Quidditch match was and the response had been "tiring but exhilarating". It now seemed it was her turn to ask him "how was your first day of classes?" he smiled "it was amazing. One of the most fun things I've ever done I think...and that includes Quidditch".

As they lay there Harry thought back on his life. Thought on all the twists and turns. On all the unexpected surprises. He realised something that he had not realised before and that was that in some twisted way the Prophecy had given him a sense of purpose. The Prophecy had given him something as an objective, something to do. He also felt glad that he had managed to get a job at Hogwarts as teaching DADA combined with his marriage had given him back a sense of purpose he really hadn't had seen his final climactic duel with his nemesis Voldemort and the death of said nemesis.

He was brought out of his thoughts by his wife's voice "sorry Ginny love" he apologised "I was thinking" he said as he turned to face her.

"Well I've got something else for you to think on Harry" she announced...I'm pregnant".

Harry was floored "you...you are?" she nodded "I've missed my period for several weeks now and I've been throwing up a lot. I went to St Mungo's to find out and she said that I'm a week into my pregnancy".

Harry couldn't believe it. He jumped out of bed and danced round the room shouting for joy. He returned to the bed and held his wife in his arms "this is the best news I've ever had" he told her with a wide grin as he placed a hand on her stomach.

He had another thought "what about your Quidditch though, I mean you'll have to take a few months off to recover and everything".

Ginny shrugged "it's important to me but not as much as you and this future baby are" she told him as she kissed him deeply.

As they fell asleep in each others arms Harry felt that the future they had fought so hard for truly would be excellent.

* * *

THE END

* * *

Authors Note: If you enjoyed this story please don't forget to review it as it would be very appreciated.

To everyone who has shown interest in this story, keep an eye out for another Harry Potter story which I plan to start writing and uploading soon. Take easy everyone.


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